The Haki of Fire
by Beast of Rendall
Summary: Imagine if some of your favorite characters from One Piece were ninjas in the world of Naruto. What would change? Who would be there? Join Naruto and Luffy in their journey to find out for yourself! My first story on the website, so any reviews are appreciated!
1. The New Generation

Chapter 1: Dawn of a New Era

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto or One Piece, or any of their characters. This story was written purely for entertainment purposes. Both works are masterpieces, and I only hope to do them and their creators justice in this tale.

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><p>The Genin Academy of Konoha; source of the next and previous generations of some of the Land of Fire's greatest ninjas. It is here that we observe the class of the Chunin shinobi, Iruka Umino, the instructor in question currently taking role as per usual. He checked off the name of one Sakura Haruno, a young pink-haired girl sitting near the center of the students. To her left was a black-haired boy with equally dark eyes, sitting there silently with his hands clasped in front of his mouth. To her right was a boy with brilliantly blond hair and blue eyes, who was staring at Sakura with the type of interest most teachers would prefer their students devote to their lessons.<p>

Ignoring the blonde for the moment, knowing he'd be getting to him soon enough, Iruka continued down the list. "Hyuuga, Hinata?" He read out loud, eyes falling on the shy pale girl sitting towards the back of the class with her milky white eyes focused on the blue-eyed boy beside Sakura.

Startled back into reality, her attention snapped back to the instructor. "O-oh, here Iruka-sensei!" She managed, embarrassed. Iruka nodded. "Inuzuka, Kiba?" He continued. "Here!" The boy in question responded, a small white puppy perched on his head barking happily as if to inform the teacher that he was also present.

"Monkey, Luffy?" The Chunin asked, waiting for a response. When none came, he looked up. "Luffy?" He repeated, scanning the desks. After a moment, his ears perked at the voice of another young man in the class, a boy with a long nose and curly black hair. "Oi, Luffy! Wake up!" He whispered unintentionally loudly, attempting to rouse the boy beside him whose face was planted firmly on his desk.

The boy stirred slowly, blinking repeatedly as he lifted the straw hat off of his head. "Is it lunch time yet?" He asked, eyes falling on an irritated looking Iruka. "Oh, did class start?" The boy beside him, Usopp, groaned in disbelief and slammed his head against the desk. The person on Luffy's other side, another pink-haired girl, Rebecca, giggled in amusement. "Yes, Luffy." She informed him. "Iruka-sensei just called your name."

Luffy nodded. "I'm here!" He declared loudly, causing most of the class to laugh as the Instructor sighed and gripped the bridge of his nose. A boy with wild green hair behind Luffy began to speak in the boy's defense, but was promptly silenced by the boy beside him. "Shut up, Baka-mello!" He hissed, glad to see the sleepy student get in trouble. The other glared at him, but decided not to respond, not wanting to get into trouble for fighting in class with the boy again. "This isn't over, Cabbage!" He whispered in return.

"I can see that…" Iruka informed Luffy, having not noticed (or at least not cared) the words exchanged by the other students. "Thank you… Now then. Nara, Shikamaru?" Again, no response. His eye twitched slightly as he looked up to the boy's usual seat beside his best friend, Choji Akamichi. Like Luffy, the boy was sleeping soundly. The teacher, growing impatient, balled up a piece of paper and threw it at the boy, who groggily sat up. "Ugh?" He mumbled intelligently.

Luffy snickered quietly, glad he wasn't the only one to get in trouble. "Nico, Robin?" Iruka resumed. "Present." The girl, who had black hair and had stopped reading a book she had brought to class, responded respectfully. "Zoro, Roronoa?" Once again, the name call was met with silence. Irritation returning, the instructor's eyes immediately found the boy in question, who had short green hair and like the two previous boys, was deep asleep.

A tic mark appeared on Iruka's head, and suddenly his head seemed to balloon to three times its normal size. "IS MY CLASS REALLY SO BORING THAT YOU CAN'T EVEN WAIT FOR IT TO START TO FALL ASLEEP?!" He demanded of the children, causing many of them to wince in pain at the volume. Shockingly, the boy remained just as unresponsive as before. "Oi, teme!" Snarled the boy beside him, who had blonde hair and a bizarrely curled eyebrow visible. "Wake up!"

Beside him, an orange-haired girl covered her ears. "Sanji-kun, stop shouting!" She demanded of the boy. "Of course, Nami-swaan~!" He replied immediately, struggling to remain seated in spite of his desire to dance at the thought of the girl talking to him. The green haired boy seemed to stir at this, for some reason. "Stupid Dartboard-eyebrow…" He grumbled. "What'd you say, Marimo?!" The blonde snapped viciously. Before Zoro could respond, the teacher shouted once more. "QUIET!" He demanded. He coughed as the class fell quiet, mentally reminding himself that there was only this last day of class left.

After several more eventful minutes of roll call, Iruka sighed in relief and set the list on his desk. "Alright, class." He said, placing his hands behind his back. "Now then, as you all know, this is the final day of class. At the end of the day, you will either walk out of the academy with a hitai-ate, a Genin of the Leaf, or as you have ever since you first left it." The Chunin's tone changed, suddenly sounding less annoyed and more proud of his students. "Now I won't lie," He said. "Chances are not all of you will pass. But don't let that discourage you! Not everyone is ready at the same time; if you don't make it this time, that just means next time you'll be starting off your career as a shinobi even stronger!"

His eyes scanned the faces of the students; some, such as Luffy and Kiba, looked eager to begin. Others, such as Sasuke Uchiha or the ever-stoic Shino Aburame, seemed as though they were already mentally preparing themselves. Still others seemed nervous, like Hinata or Usopp. In particular, Iruka's eyes lingered on Naruto Uzumaki, if only for a split second more than the others.

"Anyway, over the past few days we have been going over everyone's basic skills to determine their readiness. I'm happy to say that most of you have done very well, some I will admit beyond my expectations." He glanced at the straw-hatted boy, who he caught glancing back at Robin with a wide grin and silently saying something that he couldn't pick up, the girl simply smiling and giving a small nod in return. "So today, we will be testing the final of the Academy's basic jutsu; The Transformation Jutsu and the Clone Jutsu." He continued, noticing Naruto in particular paling slightly at the mention of the latter. "So without further delay, let's begin with the Transformation Jutsu!"

Class continued, and Iruka couldn't help the wide smile that slowly began to grow on his face as every student managed to successfully transform into rather convincing imitations of the village's leader; the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. Even those who had seemed apprehensive, such as the aforementioned Hyuuga, performed the technique excellently. "Alright Zoro, good job. A bit darker on the skin tone, though. Well done!" The green-haired boy smirked confidently as he returned to his seat, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin in his palm to watch the last few students. "Sasuke, you're up next!" Iruka called the Uchiha, who stood up from his seat.

"Good luck, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura bid the boy, who only ignored her.

Standing in front of the class, the dark-haired student formed the appropriate hand seals and closed his eyes as he concentrated on controlling his chakra. "Transform!" He announced as a puff of smoke surrounded him, only to slowly dissipate to reveal his attempt. Iruka walked around his student, now the Hokage, taking in the quality of the transformation. Everything seemed to be in order, he saw, though he also took note of the fact that Sasuke still held the steely gaze he normally wore. "Excellent work, Sasuke!" He complimented, checking his name off of a list. "Just what I'd expect of our top student." The transformation vanished, leaving the Uchiha with a small but existent smirk as he gave a slight bow before returning to his seat, ignoring the attention of several of the class's girls, as well as Cavendish, who seemed to be glaring at him.

"Next is Naruto!" Iruka informed the class, who all looked at the boy. Having apparently gotten over his nerves from earlier, smiled widely as he excitedly jumped up from his seat and ran down in front of the class to stand in front of the teacher. The Chunin smiled, glad to see Naruto in good spirits. He tended to get nervous when he had to use techniques like this in front of the class. "Just give it your best shot, Naruto." He whispered to the boy, inaudible to most of the class except for the front row and the Inazuka boy.

Naruto nodded. "Don't worry, Iruka-sensei!" He assured his instructor. "I've got this. Just watch!" He quickly formed the hand seal and gave out a call of "Transform," surrounded in a puff of smoke like all those before him. As the smoke rolled away, the silhouette looked quite promising. But when the light began to hit it more directly, laughter erupted from the class. "Is that supposed to be the Hokage, dobe?!" Shouted Kiba from the back of the class, Hinata frowning slightly at him but not speaking up.

As Iruka had feared, Naruto still seemed to lack the chakra control necessary to perfect a transformation. The lips looked as though they'd been stung by hornets, while the body itself was short and hunched. Even the clothes seemed ill-fitting, despite the simplicity of the Hokage robes. "Naruto…" He muttered, partly from disappointment and partly from annoyance. The transformation wore off, and the boy was wildly flailing his arms in a panic. "W-wait, Iruka-sensei!" He pleaded. "Gimme another shot, please! I know my transformations need work, but I have something I think will make up for that!"

Iruka blinked in surprise, wondering what the student had in mind. Still, he had failed to satisfy the requirements of the Transformation portion of the test. "I'm sorry, Naruto." He told the boy honestly, knowing what the boy was dreading most. "You'll just have to hope you do well with the Clone ju-" "Come on, Iruka-sensei!" Someone spoke up from the desks.

The student and teacher both turned to see Luffy, his typically massive smile on his face. "Let Naruto show us his new jutsu! What have we got to lose? It's not like class is over yet." Several students voiced their agreement; Rebecca and Bartolomeo, Usopp and Hinata, Shikamaru and Choji, among others. Iruka sighed. "Alright then. Let's see it, Naruto!" He relented, honestly not seeing the harm in it. The boy's eyes lit up excitedly, and he nodded eagerly. "Got it!" He said, smiling almost as widely as the boy who had spoken up for him.

With that, Naruto performed a hand seal identical to that of the Transformation technique, but his eyes seemed to glint mischievously as he concentrated. "Sexy Jutsu!" He shouted enthusiastically, much to the confusion of everyone in the room. A large puff of smoke surrounded him, and when it dispersed, there were… mixed reactions, to put it mildly.

Where Naruto had been, there was now a young, rather well-endowed woman wearing nothing, only smoke concealing her more personal areas. Her hair was tied into two massive pigtails, and she still had the whisker-like markings of Naruto's face on her own as she blew a kiss to the class. Most of the women shouted at Naruto in outrage, though Hinata and Rebecca averted their eyes in embarrassment and Robin remained as stoic as ever, even seeming to find the technique amusing. Half the boys in the class were staring in stunned silence, while the others, including the likes of Zoro, were laughing hysterically. Beside the green-haired student, Sanji seemed to have fallen out of his chair, hearts in his eyes and quietly mumbling "Mellorine~…" as he lay there.

Luffy simply looked at Naruto's new shape with a blank expression, not understanding what everyone else was freaking out about. He turned to Rebecca, whose face was buried in her hands, then to Usopp, who was staring at "Naruko" much more intensely than he had been. He turned around to look at Sasuke, who seemed just as unaffected as he was. "What's up with them?" He asked the Uchiha, who glanced down at him and shrugged.

Iruka, after recovering from the shock of what he had just witnessed, stood up from where he had flipped over his desk to see Naruto back to normal, holding his stomach and laughing at him. "Oh man, you should have seen your face, Iruka-sensei!" The boy insisted between fits of laughter, having gotten exactly the kind of reaction he had hoped for from the shinobi. Iruka frowned and stared at him seriously, the boy's laughter quickly turning to silence.

The chunin prepared to speak, only for Naruto to shake his head. "Don't worry, I know…" He informed the teacher, knowing that he had failed and returning to his seat. Iruka sighed, hating to see Naruto look so depressed, but he couldn't give him any special treatment. Not in school, at least; he made a mental note to invite the boy out to Ichiraku after everyone was dismissed. In celebration or to cheer him up, they would see.

The last couple of students performed the transformation jutsu, and Iruka instructed them all to take a break while he got the other instructors together for the Clone Jutsu test. Once he left, conversation quickly erupted amongst the students.

Rebecca and Usopp both turned to the boy in between them, who had reached into his pocket and pulled out a bag of chips. "You did really well on your transformation, Luffy!" Rebecca complimented, the boy laughing. "Thanks. Yours was good, too!" Usopp watched him as he ate, a touch confused. "I'll admit it was good, but that kind of surprised me." He said, Luffy giving him a questioning look. "What do you mean?" He asked. "Well, usually you don't do very well with the Transformation jutsu. The best you can usually manage is one of your impressions." Rebecca thought on this, also having noticed. "You have improved a lot." She agreed.

Luffy smiled. "Oh, that!" He responded. He turned around in his seat. "Robin helped me!" He explained, the two looking up at the quiet girl. She looked up from her book and offered a smile. Usopp shuttered. "She helped you?!" He repeated in surprise before lowering his voice. "I don't know how you can be friends with her. She's really scary!" Luffy shook his head. "Nah, you just don't know her. She's really nice. And funny!" He waved to her.

"Thanks again for the tutoring, Robin!" He shouted across the room, the girl raising a hand in return. "Hey, do you want to come to Ichiraku after class lets out?" She looked up at the ceiling, thinking on the offer. Unfortunately, a certain swirly-eyebrowed boy overheard the conversation. "Hey, you shitty bastard!" He growled out angrily, stomping on his desk and pointing dramatically. "I was gonna ask Robin-chan out on a date after class!" Luffy blinked. Who said anything about a date? "Oh, do you want to come too, Sanji? That's cool, but I only have enough for two, so you'll have to bring some money!" Sanji tore at his hair in irritation, Zoro snickering. "Argh, stop making fun of me, Straw Hat!"

Robin, who had been watching the exchange, giggled. "Actually, I think that sounds nice, Luffy. Can we meet by the swing outside?" She told the boy, who laughed happily. "Sure thing, I'll see you then!" He responded, leaving Sanji slack-jawed in shock. Zoro's snickering turned to full-blown laughter, and Sanji's silence to shouting. Nami groaned and got up from her seat, walking over to talk to Ino to avoid the two squabbling boys.

Luffy turned to Usopp. "Hey, why don't you come too? That way you can get to know her!" Usopp crossed his arms. "I don't know, Luffy… You're sure she's not going try and pull something?" Luffy nodded, and his long-nosed classmate sighed. "Fine, I'll come." Luffy cheered, and then turned to Rebecca. "Do you wanna come too, Rebecca?" She shook her head with a smile. "I'd love to, but I'm going to have to pass for today. My dad is inviting some of my relatives over tonight to celebrate me passing. He doesn't even know if I will, yet…"

Luffy chuckled and gave her a friendly pat on the back. "Ah, you'll pass for sure! Don't worry about it. We'll hang out some other time, then?" Rebecca nodded. "Definitely." She said with a smile.

Naruto looked over at Sakura, who was herself trying in vain to start a conversation with Sasuke. Having overheard the plans of Luffy and his friends, he decided to try asking her out. "Hey Sakura-chan, do you want to come to Ichiraku with me after class?" He asked hopefully. She turned to look at him and frowned slightly. "No thanks, Naruto. I'm, uh, going to be busy tonight." She told him quickly, so she could return her attention to Sasuke.

"Oh, okay… Maybe some other time?" He asked as he slumped in his seat, receiving no response. He sighed, and decided to just stare at the front wall until Iruka returned with the other teachers. Hinata looked at him from her seat in the back of class, wanting to say something to try and cheer him up but lacking the courage to do so. Kiba, sitting beside her, gave her a slight nudge with his elbow, trying to distract her from her worries.

Cavendish and Bartolomeo, meanwhile, had picked up their argument from earlier. Shikamaru, unable to return to sleep due to the shouting between them and Zoro and Sanji, sighed heavily. Choji offered him a chip from his bag, which he accepted. "Is there just some rule I'm not aware of that says people with green hair can't get along with blondes?" He mumbled, the Akimichi boy laughing in agreement.

Nami and Ino, who weren't far from them, both rolled their eyes. "Seriously. It's like this every day; if it's not them, it's Naruto and Sasuke." Nami observed, glad that they only had one last day of this noise. Ino nodded, looking over at Luffy as he spoke to Usopp. "And it always seems to come back to Luffy, when it comes to the first four." She added. Nami shook her head. "No, Sanji gets fired up all the time. But we would have a lot less noise if he'd just figure out Luffy's only friends with Robin and Rebecca."

Ino looked back at Nami. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever seen Luffy out on an actual date." She noted, tapping her chin. Nami shrugged. "Eh, that's his business." She stated simply, not really caring about her classmate's love life. Ino grinned, deciding to try and get a rise out of her. "Well, what about you? Sanji's asked you out a ton, I know. And some of the other boys."

Nami leered at her, huffing in annoyance at her friend's gossipy nature. "Sanji'll ask out any girl with a pulse." She remarked. "I honestly couldn't care less about getting a boyfriend." Ino rolled her eyes. "When are you gonna grow up, Nami?" She asked teasingly. Nami smirked. "How about when you and Sakura stop obsessing over Sasuke? I honestly don't get what you and the others see in him. At least Luffy's got a personality going for him." Ino's expression quickly changed, and Nami realized all too late she'd made a poor choice of words.

"Shut up, Ino." She advised the girl in a dangerous tone, Ino giggling innocently and looking away as if she had no idea what her friend was talking about.

Within a few more minutes, Iruka returned with Mizuki close behind, who went on to sit in a chair near the wall as he waited for the demonstrations to begin. "Alright everyone," Iruka spoke, getting everyone's attention. "If you'll all please return to your seats, we'll get started with the Clone Jutsu test. As before, please just come up to the front of the class when your name is called and perform the technique. Are there any questions?" When no student spoke up, he waited for them to get back to their own seats before nodding. "Alright then. First up, Shino Aburame!" The boy nodded and stood up, quietly making his way to the front of the classroom.

Class seemed to pass by quickly, given how simple the Clone jutsu was to perform for most students. "Alright, next is Luffy. Come on down!" The energetic boy let out of cry of excitement and sprung out of his desk, quickly heading into position. The two instructors watched as he seemed to prepare himself, knowing that Luffy had a rather odd sort of relation to jutsu. _"The boy has excellent chakra control for someone his age,"_ Iruka thought to himself._ "But he usually seems to have trouble concentrating on the technique itself. He seems to do better when we use jutsu during sparring matches. Maybe it's an instinct thing…"_

Luffy crossed his fingers and took a deep breath, calming down so that he could focus. "Clone Jutsu!" He called out, a puff of smoke appearing beside him. Once the smoke cleared, there stood a second Luffy, exactly like the first. The two smiled at each other, and then to the instructors. "How's that?" They asked simultaneously, Mizuki chuckling. "Very good, Luffy." Iruka complimented. "Good to see that you've been practicing."

Luffy laughed as his clone disappeared, scratching the back of his head as he returned to his seat. Usopp gave him a congratulatory nudge as he sat down, whispering "Did Robin help you out with that, too?" Luffy shrugged with a smile. "Yeah," He admitted. "I've also been training at home with my brothers." He adjusted himself in his seat, waiting for the next student to go.

Several minutes passed once again, and Iruka found himself checking off another name as Sasuke returned to his seat with a look of quiet confidence. "Naruto, it's your turn!" The instructor called out, the student in question standing and coming up to stand. Unlike with the Transformation jutsu, Naruto seemed a lot more nervous, looking over at Mizuki, who offered a reassuring nod and smile. The blond inhaled deeply, crossing his fingers and furrowing his brow as he concentrated. "Clone… Jutsu!" A puff of smoke appeared beside him, and everyone in the classroom seemed to lean forward for a closer look. When the smoke cleared, Naruto's heart sank immediately.

There, lying flat on its stomach, was a pale imitation of the student who produced it, tongue lolled out dumbly. The class erupted into laughter once again, and Iruka silenced them with yet another shout. He looked at Naruto, frowning. "I'm sorry Naruto, but that's just not good enough." He said, shaking his head.

"Aw, come on, Iruka!" Mizuki said, shrugging nonchalantly. "Give him another shot! I'll bet he just needs one more try."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he looked up at Iruka hopefully. The look made the Chunin cringe in guilt as he shook his head once again. "I'm sorry, Naruto. I already gave you another chance on the Transformation Jutsu, and I wasn't even supposed to give you that. You'll just have to try again… next year." Naruto's head fell, eyes hidden by hair that seemed to have grown longer to do just that. He sniffed quietly, and silently returned to his seat. Iruka watched him for a moment, and then cleared his throat. "Moving on… Ino, it's your turn."

Within the hour, the doors to the Academy opened, releasing a flood of students, a number of which wore their new headbands proudly upon their person. Luffy emerged beside his friends, wearing a red hitai-ate around his waist like a belt. Rebecca was also now sporting one in an identical position, though hers was the more standard blue. Usopp's black one was tied around his left arm, proudly displaying the symbol of the Leaf for all to see.

"So, tomorrow is the day when we're all getting assigned to our new teams, huh?" Rebecca asked, feeling both excited and nervous. Luffy nodded. "Yeah! I'm so excited I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight!" He exclaimed, Usopp laughing. "If that doesn't stop you, then the sleep you got in class will. You think we'll all be on the same team?" Luffy shrugged. "Maybe. That'd be cool, but it'd also be cool to get to know some new people!"

Rebecca nodded in agreement. "Rebecca!" A voice shouted, earning the friends' attention. There at the gate stood Rebecca's father, Kyros, waving his arm. She returned his wave, then turned back to the boys. "Well, I'll see you guys tomorrow! I hope the ramen's good!" Luffy and Usopp both nodded, waving as she jogged over to her father, who glanced at them with an indecipherable expression but returned his gaze to his daughter, unmistakably proud of her achievement as he looked at the symbol of all her hard work.

Luffy then lead Usopp to the swing where they were to meet Robin, who was sitting against the tree with her book. She wore a black hitai-ate around her neck, and looked up at the two as they approached. She closed the book and stood up, brushing herself off and smiling politely. "Hello Luffy. And you are Usopp, correct?" She greeted them, the long-nosed boy nodding nervously. "Yeah, that's him!" Luffy confirmed. "I hope you don't mind, but I invited him along too." She shook her head. "Not at all. I don't mind."

As they spoke, preparing to leave, Luffy heard someone approach and turned to see Naruto quietly walking their way. "Oh, hey Naruto!" He shouted happily, waving to the boy. Startled, Naruto looked up to see the group surrounding the swing. "Oh, hey." He said, not having expected anyone to be there. He looked at their headbands and sighed to himself. Luffy, either not noticing or not caring, asked "Hey, we're going to Ichiraku Ramen to get something to eat! Do you wanna come?"

Naruto blinked in surprise, and his eyes widened at the mention of his favorite restaurant. "Huh? You're inviting me along?" He asked, perplexed. Usopp shrugged. "Sure, why not? I don't mind!" Robin smiled, also not seeing any problem with it.

Naruto quickly gained a smile, the thought of ramen already doing wonders for his mood. "Okay, yeah! Sure, I'll come!" He decided, Luffy laughing at his excitement. "Alright, cool! So let's get going!" Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah!" Just as the four were about to leave, though, a voice called out to the blond. "Hey, Naruto! Over here!" The boy turned, spotting Mizuki by the front doors of the school. "Can you come here for a second? I have something I wanted to talk to you about!"

Naruto frowned, and seemed ready to protest, but for some reason just didn't seem up to it. He looked at Luffy and the others. "Sorry, guess I'll have to cancel." He lamented, the straw hat-wearing boy shrugging. "No problem! You can come along next time, alright?" Naruto's smile returned, glad for the offer. "Sure, that sounds good! I'll see you guys around!" He told them, waving as he ran to speak to the instructor. "Coming, Mizuki-sensei!"

Luffy smiled as he turned to Usopp and Robin thrusting his fists into the air. "Alright, let's go eat! I'm starving!" He declared, Usopp rolling his eyes and Robin giggling. "You're always hungry, Luffy." Usopp reminded the boy, who simply laughed in agreement. With that the three students headed out, off to enjoy their first meal as Genin of Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaf.

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><p>Well, there is the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed it, and here's to what will hopefully be a long and entertaining story. Chapter 2 is already in the works, so keep an eye out for it if you liked this!<p>

If you have any criticisms or advice, or just want to share your opinion in general, write a review if you've got the time! Any feedback at all is welcome.


	2. Dinner and Division

Here it is, Chapter 2! A quick note: Over the course of the next couple of chapters after this one, I'll be describing the outfits of the One Piece characters as they are in this story. For now, the only significant difference to note is that Luffy's straw hat is of the conical variety; something a bit more appropriate for the setting, yeah? With that being said, please enjoy!

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><p>Walking down the streets of Konoha toward Ichiraku Ramen, Luffy and his friends were chatting about the last few days of school. "So Luffy," Usopp asked, "Are your brothers going to throw you a party or something for graduating?" Luffy shrugged. "I hope so, but they aren't home right now. They're out on a mission with some other Jonin. I dunno when they'll be back." Usopp nodded, having heard something about a big mission. "Oh yeah. What was that about, again? Something about the Village Hidden in the Clouds?"<p>

Robin nodded. "Yes," She confirmed. "As I recall overhearing, they are on an escort mission defending a princess travelling to a diplomatic meeting. I didn't hear who or where with, though." Luffy nodded, the details sounding vaguely familiar. His brothers had been talking about it before they left, but he hadn't really been paying attention since he was trying to focus on his training for the Genin Exam. "Something like that, yeah."

Up ahead, the three spotted another group; Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, the latter two arguing with the former about something. Inside the restaurant they were waiting by, Luffy could spot who he could only guess were their fathers. "Hey!" He called out to the three, who paused in their squabbling to look for the source of the voice. The straw hat boy walked over to them, Usopp and Robin close behind. "How's it going? Nice job passing the exam!" He congratulated them, Shikamaru smirking and Choji smiling proudly.

Ino also smirked, shifting her weight to one side. "Same to you all." She returned, looking at the three. "So where are you three off to?" Usopp pointed down the street in the direction they were heading. "We're going to Ichiraku Ramen to celebrate passing! What about you guys?"

Shikamaru sighed irritably as he remembered why they were there. "We're waiting on the old war dogs to run out of stories." He explained, nodding to their fathers inside. "Shouldn't be much longer than another couple of hours. What a pain…" Ino groaned, rubbing her temples. "Ugh, don't tempt fate, Shikamaru. You know it'll happen!" Choji chuckled, but scratched his stomach in agreement. "Say, do you guys think we could come along?" He asked. "I don't know about Shikamaru and Ino, but I've got money. I could really go for some ramen right about now."

Luffy shrugged. "Sure, why not? You guys mind?" Robin and Usopp both shook their heads, and Ino and Shikamaru's expressions seemed to ease up slightly. "Let us go ask our dads real quick." She told them, ducking inside the restaurant to do so. The trio watched as she spoke to their fathers, her own casting a look at them that made Usopp shiver nervously, Robin only smiling politely and Luffy grinning massively as he always did. After another minute, Ino came out with a relieved look. "We're good to go!" She told Choji and Shikamaru, who both nodded.

So now a group of six walked down the street, Luffy attempting to snatch a bag of chips from an annoyed Choji while Ino was talking to Usopp about a bug problem the flower shop had been having recently. Robin and Shikamaru remained comfortably silent, preferring to stay out of stuff that didn't concern them. Eventually, they finally reached the small stand, each one sitting down. Luffy sat between Ino and Usopp, the young woman on the far left side of the seats, with Robin to his right. Choji sat on the right end with Shikamaru to his left. The store owner, Teuchi, turned to see the group and smiled welcomingly.

"Hey there kids, how's it going?" He asked as he dried a bowl with a small cloth. Luffy snickered excitedly, all too eager to share. "Today was the Genin Exam!" He exclaimed, standing up out of his chair to show the hitai-ate around his waist, the others displaying theirs just as proudly to the man. "You don't say!" He said with a laugh, impressed.

"Well ain't that something! Seems to me like you guys could use a reward for all the hard work. How does half-price ramen sound?" Luffy and Choji both salivated at the thought of how much more ramen they could afford to buy now, bowing their heads gratefully. Usopp laughed nervously, hoping that Teuchi knew what he was getting himself into with these two. "So what'll it be for the ladies?" The man asked Robin and Ino first.

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><p>In the Hokage's Chambers<p>

"Seventeen, you say?" The Hokage muttered, looking at the three Jonin he had summoned. "Yes, Hokage-sama." Confirmed Kakashi, a shinobi wearing his hitai-ate over one eye. "Seventeen graduates this year." Sarutobi looked at the files placed in front of him, each detailing one of the students who had passed.

"This is a lot more than usual." Observed Asuma, a dark-haired ninja as he lit a cigarette, the kunoichi beside him, Kurenai, taking a step away to avoid the smoke. "With the three Jonin out on a mission, we're understaffed for this many graduates. That's five teams, and one team of two."

Kurenai nodded in agreement, and looked at the Hokage. "Asuma is right. What do you suggest that we do, sir?" Hiruzen stroked his beard thoughtfully, looking up at the ceiling. "Until the others return, it seems that you all will be pulling double-time. Ebisu is preoccupied with my grandson, and most of the others available are preparing for the Chunin Exams." Kakashi and the others nodded; it was a bit unorthodox, but it was only temporary.

"Now then, I assume you've all looked over the students who have passed?" The Hokage asked, once again met with nods of confirmation. "Very well. Let's hear any observations you have."

Asuma spoke up first, taking a step forward. "I am very interested in the potential of Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru. I have a feeling that this generation's InoShikaCho combination will impress. They're all a bit problematic, and they bicker all the time, but I think I can whip them into shape."

Kurenai, after waiting to see if he would continue, stepped forward next. "I would like to take Hinata, Kiba, and Shino under my wing." She informed the others. "They are all proficient in both tracking and combat, and I feel their abilities will complement each other well. Plus, I feel as though Hinata may require some emotional support. She has a lot of potential, but she's easily discouraged. Shino and Kiba both have the makings of great leaders, and I think that they'll bring out each other's competitive side."

Kakashi cleared his throat, bringing the attention to focus on him. "Having looked over the students, I feel that Sakura, Sasuke, and Luffy have potential as a team." He determined. "Sasuke and Sakura are both quite intelligent for their ages, and if his teamwork scores are anything to go by, Luffy seems like a good choice to keep them together. Plus, he seems to be a rare case in the class; he isn't jealous of or hate Sasuke, and he learns surprisingly quickly through practice, which I feel Sakura's academic abilities will be able to take advantage of."

Sarutobi considered the three teams and, finding no issue with them, nodded. "So that settles the first three teams. And now for the others. Now, who will take on the team of two?" He continued, writing the three teams and their instructors down on documents he had pushed to the side.

* * *

><p>Ichiraku Ramen<p>

Back at the stand, Usopp and others found themselves staring at a certain straw hat wearing Genin, who was just finishing his sixth bowl of ramen. Choji, not to be outdone, wasn't far behind. Teuchi watched them in a daze, mouth slightly ajar in disbelief. "Of course…" He muttered quietly, sounding like he was on the verge of tears. "I decide to give them a discount, and two of them eat enough for ten people." His daughter, Ayame, chuckled nervously and gave him a pat on the back.

Shikamaru shook his head in amusement, having overheard the two. "Poor Teuchi's losing a fortune because of this." He mused, Robin giggling in agreement. Usopp rubbed his temples. "He's not normal…" He said, referring to the skinnier of the two big eaters. Ino nodded. "Seriously, that's not fair." She said, looking at her own bowl, which she had just finished." Luffy paused and looked at her, wiping his mouth roughly with a napkin as he swallowed.

"What's not fair?" He asked, confused. "How can you eat that much and still be so thin? Are you bulimic or something?" She asked, curious. Luffy blinked in confusion and turned to Robin for an explanation. "A bulimic is someone who eats a great amount of food, and then throws it all up to avoid losing weight." She explained bluntly, nauseating Usopp and making Choji's pace slow for a few moments.

Luffy tilted his head, turning back to Ino. "Why would I do that?" He asked. "That's stupid." She opened her mouth to explain, but couldn't find a good reason to be that desperate about dieting. She shrugged. "I don't know. It just seems like the only way you could stay so thin." Luffy resumed eating for a minute, quickly finishing his bowl and asking for another. "I don't do anything special." He answered as his food was delivered by a solemn Teuchi. "Maybe it's just because I train a lot? My brothers always told me that I burn through my energy way too fast."

Robin thought about this, and then spoke up. "What can you tell us about your brothers, Luffy?" She asked, the others also curious. Ino and Choji didn't even know that he had brothers. "Ah, Sabo and Ace?" He asked, smiling widely. "Well, they're both super strong! They're Jonins, and members of the ANBU Black Ops!"

"Really? Both of them?" Choji asked, surprised. Luffy nodded. "Yeah! They're both really good with fire jutsu. Ace has always been stronger, but Sabo always seems to have more control over his."

Ino tapped her chin as she thought, the names and their association with fire starting to sound familiar. "Wait a second. Ace and Sabo… the Konoha Twin Dragons?" She asked, recalling stories she heard of two powerful Konoha shinobi. Luffy nodded excitedly. "That's them alright!" He confirmed happily. Shikamaru and Choji's eyes widened along with Ino's, shocked that he was related to the two.

Robin smiled at their reactions, having heard from Luffy of his relation to the two before. "You seem quite proud of your brothers, Luffy." She observed, the boy nodding. "Yeah!" He declared. "Ace and Sabo help me train a lot when they're home. Sabo especially. I want to get strong enough to join the ANBU Black Ops one day, too! I'm going to be stronger than the both of them eventually!"

Ino blinked in surprise, not having expected that to be his goal. "A member of the ANBU, huh?" She asked, taking a sip of her tea. "That's surprising. I figured you'd be the type going after the Hokage title, like Naruto and Kiba." Usopp nodded in agreement, and Luffy laughed. "I used to want to." He admitted, taking his conical straw hat off and contemplating it as he spoke. "But a long while back I met someone who made me reconsider, and I decided to change my goal. Besides, I've seen what he has to do; just a bunch of paperwork and sitting behind a desk all day. So boring!"

Choji pushed his bowl away, finally having had his fill, and pat his stomach contently. "So," He asked. "Squads are being decided tomorrow. Who do you think you guys will be put with?" Usopp thought on the question, having been considering it for a while himself. "I don't really know." He admitted. Of course there was Luffy, but who would be the third person? Most of the other graduates were people he didn't know very much. "I never really hung out with anyone at the academy besides Luffy."

Luffy grinned widely. "I don't care whose team I get put on!" He exclaimed confidently. "Everyone who graduated looks really strong! Like Zoro, or that Cabbage guy!" Shikamaru chuckled in amusement at the mispronunciation of Cavendish's name, but remembered something. "Wait, doesn't Cavendish hate you?" Luffy's eyes widened. "Eh, he does?!" He shouted in shock.

Robin giggled quietly, earning her Ino's attention. "What about you, Robin?" She asked. Robin shook her head. "I'm in a similar situation as Usopp." She explained. "I never spent much time with anyone besides Luffy. I suppose that Shino boy seems interesting? I really have no idea." Luffy thought about the name, trying to remember who Shino was.

Usopp looked at the others as his friend thought. "So what about you guys?" He asked. "Who do you think you'll be paired up with?" Ino rolled her eyes. "Well, I HOPE I get to be on a team with Sasuke-kun." She began. "But I KNOW I'm going to be on a team with these two." Luffy, having given up on thinking of who Shino was, looked at her curiously. "How do you know that?" He asked. Robin, remembering who their fathers were, spoke up. "The Ino-Shika-Cho tradition, correct?" She asked.

Choji nodded. "Right." He confirmed. "Our clans have a long history together, so for generations members of our clans have been put on the same Genin squad. Our dads were the last Ino-Shika-Cho squad." Shikamaru nodded, but groaned loudly. "It's such a pain." He told them. "Of all the girls I could have been partnered up with, I have to get paired with Yamanaka." The girl's eye twitched in irritation. "Hey, it's not like I'm excited for this stupid thing either! Working with a lazy bum like you is going to be torture!"

Choji sighed. "Hey, come on guys. It won't be that bad! I'm sure we'll make a great team." He insisted, not wanting his future team mates to start arguing already. Luffy only laughed at the two. "You guys are funny!" He told them.

Usopp's face met his palm, and as it did he noticed a clock inside the restaurant. "Hey, it's starting to get kind of late." He told the others. Everyone else looked at the clock. "He's right." Shikamaru said. "We should probably be getting back to the old-timers."

"The what-timers?" A voice asked from behind them, causing Usopp and Ino to jump in surprise. Shikamaru groaned again, turning around. Luffy and the others followed his lead, spotting Shikaku, Chozu, and Inoichi standing there with amused expressions. "Hey, we were just about to start back your way!" Ino told them with a nervous laugh, Choji nodding in agreement. Chozu chuckled. "Come on Choji. Time to go." The boy nodded and hopped out of his seat. "See you guys tomorrow!" He told the others as he and his father began to walk away.

Shikamaru and his father went to leave not long after, the boy giving a lazy wave as they left, Shikaku muttering something about his wife chewing him out for being late. Inoichi looked at Luffy and his friends, Usopp swallowing nervously. He put some money on the counter and slipped out of his chair quickly. "W-well, I should get going too! Later!" He told them hastily as he jogged away. "Bye Usopp!" Luffy called after him, waving obliviously.

Ino frowned at her dad, noticing that he was staring at Luffy. "Oh come on, we were just talking!" She told him, snapping his attention to her. He smirked and turned back to the black-haired boy. "What's your name, boy?" He asked, leaning forward slightly.

The boy only laughed. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy! And this is my friend Robin!" The girl smiled politely at the father. "A pleasure to meet you, Yamanaka-san." She told him. Luffy nodded in agreement. "Yeah! But we should probably get going. Don't want to stay up too late the day before squad division." He told the man, hopping out of his seat. Inoichi blinked in surprise, not having expected the boy to be so utterly unintimidated by him. After a moment, he laughed. "Good to meet you two as well." He told them.

"Come on, Ino. Like he said, you'll want to get some rest tonight." He said to his daughter, who nodded. "Alright. I'll see you guys tomorrow." She said as she went to follow her father home. Luffy returned the farewell, and turned to Robin, who was still sitting at the counter. Putting some money on the table, Luffy smiled. "Hey Robin, you want to come stay at my place for the night? Usually Ace or Sabo wake me up in the morning, but they aren't home because of the mission. I'd appreciate it if you could help me get up in time for squad division tomorrow!"

Robin thought on the invitation. She lived alone, so she was caught off guard by it for a moment. She didn't see any issue with it, though. Robin smiled. "Well, why not?" She answered. "I've never slept over at someone else's house before." Luffy's signature grin widened, and he placed his hat on his head. "Awesome! Come on, it's not that far away!" He told her, marching off in the direction of the home he and his brothers shared. Robin giggled, always having admired how easy the boy was to amuse. "Lead the way." She instructed him, falling into step behind him.

* * *

><p>Hokage's Chambers<p>

"And with that, we have our new Genin squads." Sarutobi said, pushing the last of the documents to the side. There was only one left; there always was. The Hokage looked at it solemnly, sighing in disappointment. The Jonin all looked at the file, knowing too well whose file it was.

"How close did he come this time?" Kakashi asked, wondering at the boy's progress. "Closer. He always seems to be getting better… but not good enough. The boy just seems to freeze up when he has to actually perform a jutsu." Sarutobi responded, clasping his hands together in front of his mouth.

Kurenai crossed her arms, gripping both elbows. "Do you think that it has something to do with… _it_?" She asked uncertainly, wondering if a certain "influence" was affecting the boy's performance. The Hokage closed his eyes thoughtfully. "Perhaps." He said. "Naruto already has far more chakra than the average boy his age. His "guest" likely doesn't make things any easier."

Asuma lit a cigarette, exhaling his first drag slowly. "There's nothing we can do to help." He reasoned, frowning seriously. "We can't show him any special treatment just because of his situation. The villagers are already weary of him; we don't want them to think that Naruto is getting a free pass."

The others all nodded, not liking it but knowing that he was right. Kakashi sighed and rubbed his neck. "We'll just have to hope that he succeeds next time." He decided regretfully. Sarutobi nodded. "Yes. Very well, then. Everyone, you're dis-" "HOKAGE-SAMA!"

The group's attention snapped to the door into the Hokage's office, having heard someone shouting. "Genma, what is it?!" Sarutobi asked, standing up. "It's Iruka! He's really banged up!" The three Jonin present looked at each other, Asuma walking over to the door and opening it. He looked at the shinobi standing there, chewing on the senbon he used as a toothpick to stay calm. "What about Iruka?" He asked. The man shook his head. "I don't know all of the details. All I know is that Mizuki's been taken into custody and that Iruka requested that Hokage-sama visit him at the hospital immediately. He says that it's really important."

Sarutobi heard the conversation the two of them were having, and after a moment of processing the information, nodded. "Very well, then." He said, turning to the Jonin as he approached the door. "I apologize, but I'm afraid I can't dismiss you for tonight quite yet." The three nodded in understanding. "Don't worry, sir. Would you like us to come along as well?" Kurenai asked. The Hokage thought for a moment.

"Kurenai, you and Kakashi come with me. Asuma, stay here in case we get more information of just went on tonight. Hopefully we will be back soon." Asuma nodded, giving a small wave as the three left the room. He turned and looked out over the village.

"Just what the hell is going on?" He muttered, breathing out a thin cloud of smoke. Little did he, or the others, know just how much of an impact this day would have on the future.

* * *

><p><em>So there's Chapter 2. A bit shorter than the first chapter. For those curious about romance in the story, it won't be a major aspect of the story. There will be some hints and ship-teasing, but hopefully nothing too terribly out of character. With that said, I hope you all are looking forward to Chapter 3, where we'll find out what all of the squad set ups are!<em>


	3. Shinobi Selected

_Okay everyone, here's chapter 3! As always, I hope that you enjoy it. It's a lot longer than the last two, so get comfortable. Reviews are appreciated!_

* * *

><p>Early the next morning, Robin awoke from the sensation of the sunlight on her face, slowly opening her eyes and sitting up. After Luffy had led her to his house, he had directed her to a guest room that he and his brothers had set up. It was quite well furnished, and from what she could tell it had recently been used. Robin stretched her arms comfortably and stood up out of bed after tossing the covers aside. She glanced at a clock, checking the time. "About an hour and a half before squad division." She said to herself, opening the door to step into the hall.<p>

The home Luffy and his brothers shared was surprisingly comfortable, and not as messy as she had expected. Robin remembered that Luffy asked her to wake him up, and so walked down the hallway to where he'd said his room was. She knocked on the door gently. "Luffy, it's time to get ready." She said, waiting a moment for a response. When none came, she opened the door to look inside. The sight within caused her to laugh quietly, as the boy was sleeping with one arm and half of his head hanging out of the hammock pitched in his room. "What a strange choice of bed." She mused, walking over.

"Luffy." She said, lightly shaking the boy by his shoulder. He turned over, pulling the covers further over himself. "Not now Makino… I just started eating." He muttered quietly, eliciting another giggle from the girl. _"I wonder who Makino is."_ She wondered. Robin tapped her chin as she thought, and then smiled. "Sorry about this, Luffy." She said, gripping the ends of the hammock. With a single pull, Luffy fell out of the hammock and onto the ground below with a loud thud, luckily shielded by his blanket. He sat up slowly, head poking out of the covers drearily.

He looked at Robin, eyes blank. "Breakfast time?" He asked, struggling to stay awake. She laughed and crouched down so that she was eye-level with him. "Yes, after you get ready for Squad Division. Remember, you asked me to wake you up so you'd be on time?" Luffy blinked in response, and said nothing for a few seconds. Then, however, something seemed to click, and his eyes instantly became more alert. "Eh? That's right!" He leapt up off of the ground, amazingly already awake. Robin stood up as well, crossing her arms. "Would you mind showing me where the restroom is? I take it you don't mind me getting ready first?" She asked.

Luffy shook his head and beckoned her to follow him. "Yeah, it's just over here." He told her, stopping outside one of the other hall doors. Robin nodded and went back to the guest room, grabbing her bag that she brought. Luckily she always made sure to keep an extra set of clothes in her bag in case of emergencies. When she came back out, Luffy was scratching his head absentmindedly. "Once you're done you can just… huaaa… just let me know. I'm gonna go heat up some ramen. You want some?" Robin smiled and nodded. "That would be nice, thank you. I'll see you in a few minutes."

Luffy headed to the kitchen as Robin went into the bathroom, preparing their breakfast. He yawned, always having been slow to wake up. Still, today even that was evaporating quickly. To say he was excited would be quite the understatement. Who would be his teammates? Who would be their Jonin? What would their first mission be? As each of these thoughts crossed his mind, his usual demeanor returned more and more. By the time Robin was done in the bathroom, she emerged to see the boy running up and down the hall, grabbing all of his supplies for the day to come.

She giggled. "Luffy, I'm done. You can use the restroom now." She told him. He glanced back at her and grinned. "Ah, thanks! I already ate, and your ramen's in the kitchen! Once I'm done we can head out!" He told her, grabbing some clothes from his room and running into the bathroom. Robin shook her head in amusement as the door shut, amazed how much energy he could regain over just a few minutes. She went into the kitchen and found a bowl of ramen and a cup of tea waiting for her at the table, which she gladly sat down to enjoy them as she waited for her friend.

Robin was now wearing a mesh body suit, with a black long-sleeved hooded jacket with wispy purple patterns down the sleeves, the collar reaching about halfway up her neck. She wore a similarly colored skirt with splits down each side, mesh connecting the two halves for the uppermost inches and a belt diagonally wrapped around her waist with a purple feather charm hanging off the lower side, on the right. Her feet were protected by a pair of black tabi sandals, and she once again was wearing her hitai-ate around her neck. A pouch for shuriken was hung on her belt's left side.

After about another ten minutes, during which Robin was able to finish her ramen and tea, Luffy came walking down the hall, cleaned up and ready to go. "Alright, you ready to get to the Academy?" He asked her. Robin turned to look at him and nodded, standing up.

Luffy was now wearing a dark red sleeveless vest with a high collar, opened and showing that he was also wearing a mesh shirt beneath it. He was also wearing a pair of black shorts with fur lining, and black tabi on his feet. A shuriken pouch rested on his waist to the back right, and there were white bandages wrapped around his hands and forearms. On top of his head rested his conical straw hat, partially shadowing his eyes, and his hitai-ate was tied around his waist as it was the day before. He smiled widely, hands tucked into the pockets of his vest.

After making sure that they had all of their equipment that they might need on hand, Luffy and Robin headed out to the Academy. The sun was only just now starting to rise, and the town was slowly coming to life. "Hey Makino, good morning!" Luffy greeted a young woman with dark green hair sweeping off the deck of her bar, waving. The woman smiled and returned the wave. "Good morning, Luffy! Off to the Academy?" She asked. He nodded excitedly.

"Yeah! We're going to be separated into our squads today!" He explained. "This is Robin!" The dark-haired girl nodded politely to the bartender. "I see." Makino said, pausing in her sweeping. "Well, why don't you and your team come by the bar tomorrow night? I can close up early and cook you all up a meal to celebrate! In fact… why don't you invite all of the graduates? It'll be fun!"

Luffy's eyes widened, and he practically danced in place. "Oh, that sounds awesome! I haven't had any of your food for weeks!" He remembered. "Alright! Make plenty of food; it's gonna be one heckuva party!" The woman nodded and laughed, waving her hand slightly. "Sounds good. Now you two get going before you're late. I'll see you then!" Luffy grinned. "Right! Later, Makino!"

Robin looked over at her friend as they left the young woman, thinking about the party he and the girl had spontaneously decided to throw. "Who was that, Luffy?" She asked him, curious as to how he knew her. Luffy laughed. "That was Makino! She's an old friend of mine; she helped me and my brothers when we were growing up. Makino's like my older sister." Robin smiled as he spoke, able to tell how much he cared for the woman. She looked up, and saw that they were now standing at the gates to the academy. She turned to her friend, whose grin had been replaced by a surprisingly small smile; like that of a person who had just remembered an amusing story.

"Well, here we are." She stated simply, the boy nodding in agreement. "Yeah… Come on, let's get to class!"

* * *

><p>Umino Iruka's Classroom<p>

Inside Iruka's classroom, there were already a few students present. Shino Aburame was already sitting in his perch at the back of the classroom, and Ino was already talking to Nami at their seats. Shikamaru was at his seat, face planted firmly to the table; if one didn't know any better, they might think he'd never moved from that spot after class the day before.

Luffy grinned as he walked up the steps to his seat, waving to Ino and Nami as he passed them. "Morning Ino, morning Nami!" He greeted the two as he sat down, Robin walking past him. Nami looked at him in surprise. "Wow, I didn't expect you to be here this early, Luffy." She observed, Ino turning to look at the boy. "Couldn't sleep? I remembered you saying something about not being able to last night." She asked.

Luffy laughed and shook his head. "Nah, I slept fine! But Robin spent the night over; she woke me up this morning." He explained, Robin nodding in confirmation when the two looked up at her. Nami blinked, and then turned to Ino. "Wait, what was that about last night?" She asked the blue-eyed girl, who shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing, really. Me, Choji, and Shikamaru were waiting on our dads outside a bar, and them and Usopp came by and invited us to Ichiraku."

Nami smirked devilishly, a look that Ino knew meant trouble. "So how is it you can give me a hard time about Luffy, when you go and accept a date from him that same night?" She asked, voice dripping with delight at her chance to turn the girl's teasing the day before around.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh puh-lease." She huffed, running her fingers through her ponytail. "We just grabbed a bite to eat. Besides, how could it be a date with six people?" Nami snickered and said nothing else, though it was obvious that this wouldn't be the last time she brought it up. Luffy laughed at the girls' antics from his seat, either oblivious to the subject of their talking or finding the idea just as ridiculous as the two of them.

Probably the former.

Before too long, Rebecca entered the room, Choji not far behind her. "Ah, hey Rebecca!" Luffy said to the girl, waving as she made her way up the steps. The girl smiled at her friend. "Good morning Luffy. How did you sleep last night?" She asked, sitting beside him. Luffy grinned. "I slept great, how about you? Are you excited for squad division? Oh, what'd you guys have for dinner last night?!"

Rebecca giggled in amusement at the black-haired boy's typically rapid-fire questions, answering them each patiently. "I slept fine, as well. And yes, very excited! As for dinner, we had quite a variety. You know how my father gets when it comes time to celebrate something for me. Oh, and I saved some of my aunt's takoyaki for you! I know how much you love takoyaki."

Luffy's eyes widened, and he seemed to be on the verge of drooling. "Oh man, thanks! Viola's takoyaki is the best!" He thanked her gratefully, already able to practically taste the snack. Choji looked at the two as he sat down beside Shikamaru, overhearing their conversation. "How long have you two known each other, anyways?" He asked curiously, having noticed before how well the two seemed to get along. Luffy smiled at him. "Who, me and Rebecca? We've known each other for forever!" He revealed, the girl nodding. "Yeah, ever since we were little. Probably since we were babies. Our families were quite close."

Choji blinked in surprise. "Your families? You mean like our clans?" He asked, gesturing to himself, Shikamaru, and Ino. Rebecca thought for a moment. "Well, maybe not quite like that. Our families weren't bound together like yours are. Ours are more like… well, just close allies." She attempted to explain. "To be honest, I don't really know how our families first began to associate."

Rebecca turned to Luffy. "Do you know, Luffy?" The boy shrugged, not having a clue. "Nope! I don't know much about my own family's history, actually. It's a mystery!" Nami rolled her eyes at his declaration. "You think everything's a mystery." She reminded him, to which he only laughed.

Just then, a joyous cheer resounded from out in the hall, and within seconds Sanji practically danced into the room, presenting a flower to the orange-haired girl. "Ah, Nami-swan! I thought that I heard your angelic voice!" Nami took the flower with an amused expression. "Thank you, Sanji-kun." She told him methodically, placing the flower in a small, tube-like container attached to her belt.

Sanji looked around the room, and made his way around to great the other girls already present. "Robin-chwan, you're as beautiful as ever! Ino and Rebecca, I see you're both looking radiant as well!" Rebecca and Robin smiled politely, while Ino rolled her eyes as the love-struck fool passed her, used to the daily routine.

Once Sanji had sat down, it was only a matter of minutes before Bartolomeo and Cavendish entered, already shouting at each other. Something about a cat they had seen while walking to the academy. The green-haired boy looked up and saw Luffy, who was gently dusting his beloved hat off with his hand. "Ah, good morning, Luffy-sempai!" He greeted the boy, who looked up at the sound of his name. "Ah, hey Rooster Guy! Cabbage!" He responded, the blond-haired boy glaring at him.

"What'd you call me, Straw Hat?!" He shouted, Bartolomeo growling angrily. "Hey, back off, pretty-boy!"

Losing interest in the two's argument, Luffy looked to the door again in time to see Usopp entering, and eagerly waved his friend over. The long-nosed boy was now wearing a pair of dark brown shorts, wearing a similarly colored jacket and a dark green shirt beneath. His head was now covered with his hitai-ate, a pair of goggles resting on top of them.

"Oi, morning Usopp!" He greeted his friend, who waved as he made his way past the bickering pair and to his seat. "Hey guys." He said to Luffy and Rebecca as he sat down, glancing back at Robin with a friendly nod, which she returned.

Noticing this, Rebecca smiled. "So I take it you two and Robin enjoyed dinner last night?" She asked curiously, remembering how intimidated Usopp had been by Robin the day before. The long-nosed boy nodded. "Yeah, it was pretty fun. Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru joined us."

As the three spoke, the rest of the students continued to arrive. Hinata and Kiba, then Sakura. Sasuke entered next, wiping sweat from his forehead with a small towel. Evidently, he'd been training outside before coming in. Sakura and Ino quickly took the seats on either side of him, asking him about his night and congratulating him on graduating. Cavendish, having eventually stopped arguing with Bartolomeo, glared at the Uchiha boy, grinding his teeth comically.

At that point Zoro came in, much to the surprise of everyone present. Usually he was at least ten minutes late to class, and here he was today coming in early. "Is the world ending or something, Moss Head?" Sanji asked the tan-skinned boy, who shot him an annoyed look. "You say something, Dartboard?" He asked. A voice spoke up from the hallway. "Seriously Zoro, how did you get lost on the way to the Academy? You live like six buildings away!" The voice said. Everyone sat up in surprise, recognizing the voice.

"Was that… Naruto?" Asked Kiba, sniffing the air in tandem with Akamaru. Sakura laughed. "He probably found him wandering around an alleyway somewhere!" She deduced jokingly. The blush on the green-haired boy's face, however, implied that she may not have been too far off.

Sure enough, the orange-clad boy walked in, rubbing the back of his neck in exasperation. Still, he had a massive grin on his face; one that was almost as distinct as the blue hitai-ate tied and displayed proudly on his forehead. He looked at everyone and laughed loudly. "Hey guys, has Division started yet?" He asked, dumbfounding many of those present.

Kiba stood up, yelling across the room. "Hey, what's the big idea Uzumaki?!" He demanded, as though this was some sort of joke. Naruto only smirked. "What are you talking about?" He asked, pointing at his headband with his thumb. "Today's the day all of the Genin get assigned to their squads! Or did you think we were just having a normal class today?"

The Inuzuka boy growled irritably and was about to shout out an insult, only to be interrupted by the laughter of Luffy at Naruto's remark. "Hey Naruto, glad to see you passed!" The straw-hat boy said, earning a nod of appreciation from him. Sakura frowned deeply. "Yeah, that is what today is!" She said to Naruto. "So again, why are you here?"

The sound of a throat being cleared prevented any sort of response or agreement, and the students all turned to face Iruka-sensei, who was now wearing a black hitai-ate. Naruto looked up at him with concern. The teacher smiled. "Don't worry Naruto, I'm fine." He assured the boy. "Now then, will everybody please take your usual seats?"

All of the students who weren't already did as they were told, with Naruto taking his usual spot next to Sakura. Iruka checked to make sure that everybody was present, and pulled out a small clipboard with a sheet of paper attached to the front. "Now then, everyone, I'd like to begin by saying this; yes, Naruto has graduated, just the same as all of you. The rest of the instructors and myself, as well as Hokage and several of the Jonin, have agreed that he's sufficiently skilled to pass. And that is all I'm going to say of the matter."

Murmurs broke out among the students, wondering what had happened that made the adults think Naruto was ready, but this was quickly silenced by Iruka. "Enough!" He said. "Now that that's out of the way, what do you all say we split you all up into your squads?"

The question was met with resounding shouts of approval, which took several minutes to calm down again. Umino laughed, glad that everyone was so eager to begin the next step of their careers as Shinobi. "Alright everyone, so let's get started!"

Iruka looked at the clipboard in his hand, and then up to his class. "First up, is Team Ten: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Choji Akimichi!" He read off, watching for the three's reactions.

Choji smiled widely, looking forward to working with the two, and Shikamaru raised his head to show that he was awake. He had a slight smirk, but rolled his eyes when he heard Ino mumble something about being put on the wrong team.

Iruka chuckled, and then resumed reading off names. "Team 8 will consist of… Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga!" He told the three. Shino's reaction was undetectable besides a slight nod, while Kiba seemed pretty satisfied, as he smiled while Akamaru barked excitedly. Hinata looked at the two of her teammates, a bit nervous but also eager to get to know her new partners.

The instructor crossed the second team off of the clipboard list, moving down to the next group. "Next is Team 4. Team 4 will be… Sanji, Nami, and Zoro!" Sanji cheered as he learned he'd be on Nami's team… only for his mood to immediately sour at the mention of the moss-headed irritant. "Why must every silver lining be attached to a damned green cloud?!" He lamented dramatically, pounding the table he sat at. Zoro sneered, not thrilled about the team setup either. Nami rubbed her temples; she could already feel the headaches piling up in her head.

Iruka shook his head and went to the next trio of names. "Now then, for Team 5! The members for this squad will be… Bartolomeo, Rebecca, and Cavendish!" He declared. Cavendish stood up. "Hey, why do I have to be paired up with this slob?!" He demanded to know, pointing at the wild-haired boy, who was digging in his ear with a pinky, glaring back at him. Iruka sighed. "I didn't decide the teams, Cavendish. Don't shoot the messenger."

Rebecca lowered her head slightly, a bit saddened that she wouldn't be on a team with either of her friends. Luffy smiled and gave her a gentle prod with his elbow. "Hey, you got a good team! Bart-guy and Cabbage are really strong!" He told her, remembering how the two performed during sparring. She smiled slightly, and he gave her another nudge. "Ah, come on. It'll be fun! You're nice and funny, you'll be friends before you know it!"

Bartolomeo, seeing the two talking, began to chuckle to himself as he formed an idea in his head. Cavendish continued to complain about being put on the same team as one of his least favorite classmates, but was eventually silenced by the shouting of his instructor.

Once that interruption was dealt with, Iruka looked at the last two squads on the list. "Two teams left, and the first of them is Team 6! For Team 6, we have… Luffy, Robin, and Usopp!" He announced. Luffy and Usopp exchanged grins of excitement, with Luffy laughing happily and waving to Robin, who giggled at the two's antics. At least they were people she was more comfortable with. Iruka smiled, glad that at least one of the teams seemed to be happy with their arrangement.

Iruka then looked at the last trio of names, and then to the remaining three students. "And that makes the final team, Team 7… Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha!" He finished, crossing the final names off of the list. The three students stared at their instructor, as if silently asking if he was joking.

When no response came from the man, looks were exchanged between the team. Naruto staring at Sakura admiringly, while she did the same to Sasuke. The two boys glared at each other, while Sakura started to shout something at Naruto about not bother "her Sasuke-kun".

Iruka shouted once again, silencing the classroom as it erupted into a combination of yelling and laughing. The students all looked at their instructor, who cleared his throat. "Anyway… Now that your teams have been decided, you're all to report to your Jonin squad leaders. Before I tell you where to go, I'd like to explain something; due to a mission currently being performed by some of the Konoha shinobi, we're currently short on Jonin. As such, until they return we will be pairing up teams under one Jonin."

Iruka then turned to the chalkboard on the wall and began to write down the teams' numbers and those of three classrooms. "Teams 10 and 4, you'll both be reporting to Room 16 to meet your captain. 8 and 5, your leader will be in Room 12. And Teams 6 and 7 will be meeting their captain in Room 8." He instructed the six teams.

Iruka turned back to the children as he put the chalk down, and smiled warmly at them. "And everyone… I just want you all to know how proud I am to have been your teacher! I have no doubt that each and every one of you will go on to do great things for our village!" He told them, which earned a number of smiles and acknowledgements from the students. And with that final word, Iruka turned to leave the classroom, waving to the students as he stepped out. "I'll see you all again later." He assured them.

Once the instructor had been gone for a minute, the young shinobi all stood up and made their way to the rest of their squad, wanting to meet their Jonin quickly. Luffy, Robin, and Usopp smiled at each other as they approached the door out of the classroom, only for Luffy to stop when he looked over at Team 5. Bartolomeo and Cavendish were already arguing again, each wanting to get past the other to get to the door. Rebecca shook her head in amusement, but sighed tiredly.

Luffy looked at his team. "You guys go on ahead, I'm going to go see if Rebecca can give me that takoyaki she said she saved me!" He told them. Usopp and Robin looked at each other and nodded, making their way down the hall to the assigned room. Team 7 wasn't far behind, Naruto and Sasuke making a point of not talking to each other while Sakura tried to think of something to say to the Uchiha boy.

Once they left, Luffy hopped over to where Rebecca was sitting, still waiting for her teammates to stop bickering so that they could go. She looked away from the two to see the boy resting his hands on the table she sat at. "Hey, is something wrong?" He asked her, concerned. Rebecca thought on the question, trying to think of a way to word her problem. "No, not really." She said, clasping her hands together. "I'm sure we'll all get along eventually, but it would have been nice to be put on a team with at least one person I knew decently. I'm pretty sure everyone else was put on a team with someone they like."

Luffy thought, understanding what she meant. He looked at Bartolomeo and Cavendish, who were standing with their backs to each other and scowls on their faces. He turned back to Rebecca. "It won't take long for you guys to be friends!" He assured her confidently. "Like I said before, you're smart and funny and nice!"

He paused, and then smiled as he got an idea. "Hey, why don't we hang out tonight? After we're done meeting our Jonins? It's been a while since we had a good sparring match at the training yard!" Rebecca looked at him, and after a moment she smiled. "I'd like that." She said, nodding in agreement to the proposal. Newly energized by her friend's offer, she took out a bento box wrapped in a deep blue cloth and handed it to him. "Here's my aunt's takoyaki, like I said!" Rebecca told him as she put it in his hands. She stood up and walked over to the two boys that were her teammates, pushing them out of the room, much to their surprise.

"H-hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Cavendish demanded. Bartolomeo flailed around slightly in protest. "Wait, I-I needed to ask Luffy-sempai something!" He insisted, the girl shaking her head. "You can talk to Luffy later, we have to go meet our Jonin instructor! Come on, I don't want to keep the other team waiting." She retorted, eagerness to begin renewed. "I'll see you later, Luffy!" She called back to the boy, who laughed. "Alright, later!" He returned.

Luffy smiled and looked down at the bento Rebecca had given him, and made his way into the hallway and to Room 8. Once there, he saw Usopp and Naruto chatting about something, with Sakura sitting on the instructor's desk at the front of the classroom nearby. Robin was looking out the window peacefully, and Sasuke was simply sitting with his eyes closed and his hands over his mouth. Usopp looked over at his friend. "There you are!" He said. "The Jonin isn't here yet. Did you see anybody in the hallway?"

Luffy shook his head, and made his way over to sit on top of one of the student tables, placing his snack for later beside him as he looked around the classroom. "Wonder how much longer it's gonna be?" He questioned no one in particular, eager to get things started already. Naruto nodded in agreement. "Seriously, how can our sensei be late on our first day together?!" He asked, Usopp also wondering the same thing.

Sakura looked over at Robin, and decided that she might as well get to know her since they'd be working together for a while. She glanced back at Naruto and Usopp, who were digging around the instructor's desk at the front of the room. For what, she didn't want to know. She approached the black-haired girl. "Hey." She greeted Robin, who turned away from the window to look at her. "Hello, Sakura." Robin said, smiling. "Is there something that you need?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, I was just wanting to see if you'd like to talk until our sensei gets here. Do you mind?" She asked, Robin shrugging. "Not at all. What would you like to talk about?"

The kunoichi thought for a moment, wondering what she could ask the other girl. They had never really spoken before. An idea occurred to her, and she smiled. "Well, what do you like to do in your spare time?" She asked. Robin hummed quietly as she considered the question. "I like to read," She decided to say, pulling out a small book she kept on hand for down time. "Mostly I read about different regions' histories, though I also have a few less scholastic books in my collection. I also have a small garden I keep."

Sakura's expression brightened, glad to have been able to break the ice. "Oh, that's nice! I like reading, too. I also like to go shopping sometimes." Robin smiled. "I see." She said. "I haven't been shopping in a while." The pink-haired girl had an idea. "Oh, well why don't you come along on my next shopping day? It'd be a fun way to get to know each other!"

Robin smiled at the offer and nodded. "I would like that." She agreed. "Just let me know one day, and we'll go."

Sasuke glanced at the girls and at Luffy, before his attention turned to Usopp and Naruto after the latter jumped up from behind the desk. The blond boy was holding an eraser, and snickering excitedly. "What are you doing, dobe?" Sasuke asked as the two walked over to the still open door. Usopp got down on his hands and knees, letting Naruto use him as a stool so he could place the eraser in between the door and frame as he closed it. He looked back at the Uchiha boy as he hopped off of Usopp, dusting of his hands and grinning widely. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm gonna show our 'sensei' that it isn't nice to keep people waiting for their first meeting!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Naruto. There's no way that's gonna work; our instructor's a Jonin. Such a simple trick won't fool him." She told him, though the idea of it potentially succeeding had her excited. "Yeah, that'll show him not to be late!" She thought to herself.

Sasuke nodded in agreement with Sakura. Or at least, with what she actually said. Luffy looked at the eraser, curious but not really sure either way. He turned to Sasuke. "I saw that you'd been training outside. How'd it go?" He asked. The Uchiha boy looked at him in surprise, though it only showed by a slight raising of his eyebrows. He shrugged. "Fine." He responded simply, not really having anything else to say about it. While Naruto tended to annoy him with his obnoxious behavior, for some reason Luffy didn't bother him as much. He assumed that it was because he had a bit more respect for the straw hat-wearing boy, seeing as he was actually quite capable in taijutsu, if their previous sparring matches during the Academy were any indication.

"Whoa, are your eyes red?" Luffy suddenly asked. Sasuke's eyes widened, and he quickly removed his headband. The boy stared into the reflection of his eyes, only to find that they weren't any different than normal. Luffy blinked. "Have you been sleeping recently?" He continued, making Sasuke realize what he had meant by his first question. _"On the other hand…"_ He thought to himself in annoyance, taking a deep breath to calm down as he put his headband back in its proper position.

"I was up all night training." He told Luffy bluntly, not wanting to continue the conversation after what he had just done. He felt like an idiot for reacting so quickly. Sakura, overhearing this, smiled at him. "Wow, Sasuke. You're so dedicated!" She praised Sasuke, earning the Uchiha boy a glare from Naruto. Before he could say anything, however, he heard footsteps out in the hall. The attention of the students redirected to the door, and then to the eraser above.

The door slid open, and a head full of grey hair entered the room, only to be lightly bonked on the head by the eraser as it fell, releasing a thin cloud of chalk dust.

A brief pause followed, after which Naruto, Usopp, and Luffy all began to laugh heartily. Robin giggled slightly, while Sasuke stared at their sensei. _"_This_ guy is our superior?"_ He thought to himself. Sakura bit her lower lip nervously. "S-sensei, I'm so sorry! We told them not to do it!" She apologized, gesturing to two pranksters who had played the joke. **_"POW, NAILED 'EM!"_** Her inner voice shouted excitedly, finding the event hilarious.

The Jonin stepped inside, lightly patting at his hair to knock the dust out of it. H wore a mask over his mouth and nose, while his hitai-ate seemed to be serving as a sort of makeshift eye patch. The man picked up the eraser, and calmly placed it inside the instructor's desk before turning to the Genin. Naruto, who was still laughing, pointed at the man in amusement. "Oh man, sensei that was priceless! I sure got you, didn't I?"

The man cleared his throat as he raised a hand to his mouth, silencing Naruto and earning the attention of the others. "Let's see…" He spoke, voice quiet but distinct. "My first impression is… you're all a bunch of idiots."

Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Usopp all sweatdropped, while Robin simply smiled in amusement at the jab. Luffy laughed. "This guy's funny!" He said approvingly, earning him an odd look from the Jonin. "Well, I'm glad to see you all have such a good sense of humor." He said, eye shut in what the students all assumed was an expression of humor. "My name is Kakashi Hatake. And if you're all done having your laughs, meet me up on the roof. We'll start things off there."

With that, he left in a blur of movement, leaping out of the open window. The kids all looked at each other. "That… could have gone better." Sakura muttered, scratching at her hair thoughtfully. She glared at Naruto and Usopp and clocked them both on the back of the head. "You idiots, why did you have to go and prank our team captain like that?!" She demanded fiercely as the two squealed in pain, rubbing the large bumps on their heads. "Ow! Sakura-chan, we were just having some fun!" Naruto told her, standing up with a wince as he poked at the lump.

Usopp nodded in agreement with the blond, and looked over to see Sasuke, Robin, and Luffy hopping out of the window. "You guys coming?" Luffy asked as he jumped out after pocketing his bento box. The three nodded after a moment, and followed the others as they made their way up to the roof. There, they found the Jonin waiting, sitting on the railing of the balcony with his arms crossed. "There you are." He greeted them, lifting one hand in a lazy wave. "Go on, take a seat."

Luffy, Robin, and Usopp all sat on the steps leading to the balcony, while Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke sat behind them. They all looked at Kakashi. "So, um, Kakashi-sensei, what are we doing here?" Asked Usopp, looking around to see if there was anything worth noting. The Jonin shrugged. "Oh, nothing important. I just thought that we could use this as a chance to get to know each other better. So, why don't you tell me a little about yourselves?"

Sakura tilted her head, tapping her chin curiously. "Well, what exactly do you want to know?" She asked, not knowing where to start. Kakashi thought for a moment. "I don't need your life story, just some basic things. Like your dreams, likes, and dislikes. Why don't we start with those?"

Naruto nodded, but then pointed at the man. "Isn't it polite to introduce yourself before asking others to? Why don't you start us off and show us how it's done?" He suggested, wanting to know more about the mysterious man who would be their leader.

Kakashi blinked and tilted his head back. "I suppose that's fair. Let's see…" He trailed, closing his visible eye. "Well, I like a lot of things. I don't think I particularly dislike much, either. And as for my dreams… you know, I never really thought about it. Now uh, who wants to go next?"

Naruto, Sakura, and Usopp looked at each other. "Well that was a waste of time." Sakura noted, annoyed. Usopp nodded in agreement. "Yeah, all we know about him is his name." He added. Naruto turned back to their captain and was about to volunteer to be next, but Luffy beat him to it.

"Oh oh, I'll go!" He said excitedly, pulling his hat off of his head. "My name's Monkey D. Luffy. I like to eat, especially meat! Oh, and I like to train with my friend and go fishing! I hate bandits and bullies, and one day I want to join the ANBU Black Ops and get even stronger than my brothers!"

Kakashi listened to the boy. "Interesting. So, I take it that would make you Ace and Sabo's younger brother, right?" He asked. Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto all looked at him in surprise, having heard their names before. Luffy only smiled and laughed. "Yep, that's me!" He confirmed.

Naruto threw his hand up before anyone else could speak. "Oh, me next, Sensei!" He called, wanting to share his own dream with the others. "My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I like to taste and compare different kinds of ramen, and I hate instant ramen. I wanna be the next Hokage; then people will finally start to respect me, like I'm someone important!"

Kakashi looked at him with surprise, intrigued by his reasoning. He had heard that the boy wanted to be Hokage, but he hadn't known why. He nodded, and then turned to Robin. "Why don't you go next?" He asked her, to which she nodded. "Very well, then. My name is Nico Robin. I enjoy reading about history and tending to my garden at home. I dislike people who disrespect the past, and those who judge others based on theirs. My dream… I suppose I would like to learn more about clans that have long since died out across the land."

Kakshi nodded again, and looked at Sakura. She brought her hands to her mouth in embarrassment. "Right. Well, my name Is Sakura Haruno. I like…" She trailed off, casting several glances toward the Uchiha boy. "A-and my dream is… oh wow." Kakashi and Usopp both sweatdropped. "Aaand your dislikes?" Kakashi reminded her. Her expression turned more certain, and she frowned.

"Naruto!" She declared firmly, much to the despair of the boy in question. Usopp winced in response to her tone. _"Damn, that was harsh…"_ He thought to himself, gulping and hoping that he could stay on her good side.

Kakashi shook his head. "Alright, then… you there. With the long nose." He called out the boy, who flinched in surprise. "O-oh!" He said. "Right! Well, my name is Usopp! I like to make up stories and practice my aim. I don't like people who can't take a joke. And for my dream… I want to be a great ninja like my dad; then one day I can tell people stories about myself, and they'll be true!"

Kakashi smiled slightly underneath his mask, and then faced the last of the gathered Genin. "And finally, we come to you." He informed the dark-eyed boy. The student remained quiet for a few moments, as if gathering his thoughts.

"My name…" He finally began. "Is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't particularly like anything. And I hate a lot of things. And what I have isn't a dream, because I will make it a reality… and kill a certain man." Usopp and Naruto both stared at him nervously, while Luffy blinked in confusion. Robin seemed curious but said nothing, while Sakura was staring at him devotedly. Kakashi thought to himself. _"So, the rumors about him are true."_

The Jonin suddenly stood up from his position against the railing, and clapped his hands together once to get the attention of his students. "Well, I think that this has been an enlightening first meeting." He observed pleasantly. "Now then, seeing as we've only just formed, that will be all for today. But tomorrow morning, I want you all to meet me at the Third Training Ground for our first mission."

Luffy hopped to his feet excitedly. "Ooh, what kind of mission?!" He asked, eager to begin already. Kakashi chuckled. "Just a simple training mission; I want to see what you all can do first-hand. There's only so much papers and reports can tell me, after all." The others all stood up and prepared to leave, only to stop when they heard their sensei speak up again.

"Oh, and one more thing. You'll probably want to skip breakfast tomorrow morning." He added, earning curious glances from the Genin. "Otherwise… you'll probably throw up." With that unsettling bit of information, the Jonin disappeared once again, leaving the six standing there in stunned silence.

Naruto and the others all looked at each other uncertainly, not knowing how to process this last bit of instruction. The blond boy held his stomach unsurely. "Wh-what do you think he meant by that?" He asked nervously. Sasuke merely shrugged, while Sakura shook her head. "No clue." She admitted, turning to the other three. "What do you guys think?"

"GAAAAH!" Luffy suddenly shouted, surprising the other five. "Wh-what's the matter Luffy?!" Usopp asked frantically, taking a step back out of fear. The boy was gripping his hair tightly. "Skip breakfast?! How am I gonna skip breakfast?!" He lamented in what sounded like genuine fear. Usopp and the others all sweat dropped, besides Robin, who giggled in amusement. "I'm sure you'll be fine, Luffy." She assured the boy, patting his arm.

Luffy blinked, and then something clicked in his head. "Oh yeah!" He said, lightly tapping his open palm with his fist. "I gotta go! Me and Rebecca are going to train today!" He ran off, waving back to the others. "See you tomorrow, guys! Can't wait!" He called back, the others looking at each other. Not really having much else to say, they each bid farewell to the others in their own way before heading off on their own way.

Several minutes later, Luffy found himself in he and Rebecca's usual training spot: the Second Training Ground. Sure enough, he looked over to see his pink-haired friend already there, and speaking to who he recognized as Bartolomeo, and the shy Hyuga girl from class. "Oi, Rebecca!" He shouted, waving to her. The three turned to face his voice. Rebecca smiled and returned the wave, beckoning him over. "Hey Luffy!" She yelled. Bartolomeo seemed to be fidgeting in place as Luffy approached, struggling to greet him. "G-good… No, h-hey! Luffy-sempai!" He managed, nearly biting his tongue off in his nerves.

Luffy smiled as he came to a stop. "Hey guys, how's it going? Good to see you, Bart-guy!" He said, the boy nodding quickly in agreement. "Y-yeah. Good! What are you doing here?" Bartolomeo asked. Luffy nodded toward Rebecca. "Ah, me and Rebecca were going to do some training after we finished meeting our Jonin!" He explained. Hinata smiled. "Oh, I see." She said. "We can leave, if you want."

Luffy looked at Rebecca, who smiled back at him. He grinned. "Nah, you guys can stay!" He told them both. "It'll be fun!"

Hinata smiled, glad to be given a pass to stay and train, while Bartolomeo looked about ready to pass out from happiness. "A-ah! Thank you, Luffy-sempai!" He said, bowing gratefully. Hinata nodded in agreement. "Yes, it's always better to train with other people." She said.

Luffy grinned again and punched his fist into his palm. "Alright!" He said, shifting into a fighting stance, fists raised in front of his body. Rebecca, also eager to begin, drew the wooden training sword that she used to spar. Hinata and Bartolomeo, seeing the other two falling into their own respective stances, also prepared themselves to begin. "Who wants to start us off?" Luffy asked as the four of them stepped into a sort of diamond formation, each an equal distance from each other.

When no one spoke up, he laughed. "Shishishi. Alright then. One the count of three! One… two… three! Go!" He shouted excitedly, suddenly dashing at Bartolomeo.

Shaking off his admiration for the straw hat boy, the green-haired Genin raised his hands in defense to block Luffy's first strike, weaving to the left and swinging his left leg at his opponent. Luffy blocked the strike and pushed off, momentarily throwing off Bartolomeo's balance and going for a leg sweep. The green-haired Genin took a step back, barely avoiding the attack. When he attempted to go in for a punch while Luffy was crouched, the boy surprised him by pushing off of the ground, tackling Bartolomeo to the ground and rolling to his feet. "Done already?" He taunted as Bartolomeo hopped back up, shaking the impact off. "Not even close!" He barked back with a chuckle, having an easier time talking to him while distracted by the fighting and trash talk.

Rebecca charged toward Hinata, swinging her wooden sword at the shorter girl from the right. Hinata gasped in surprise, not having expected the other girl's speed, and narrowly ducked beneath the slash. She pushed Rebecca's sword back to the left, the momentum of which the swordswoman used to spin and deliver a strike from the upper left. Hinata pushed her opponent's sword to the ground, and swung jabbed with her fingertips at Rebecca's sword arm. However, she dropped down to avoid the strike, swiping her sword at Hinata's legs. The Hyuga girl managed to get one leg out of the way, but was hit at the second leg and tumbled over. She caught herself barely, and pushed herself up. "You're fast, Rebecca-san!" She complimented the pink-haired kunoichi, who laughed happily. "You're quite skilled yourself, Hinata!"

Hinata smiled slightly, but shook her head. "N-no, I'm nothing special. But thank you for the compliment." Rebecca took her sparring stance once again, and took a deep breath. "Still able to fight?" She asked, locking eyes with the pale girl. Hinata nodded, returning to her own stance. "Yes, I'm ready!"

Three Hours Later

"Whoo! You guys are strong!" Luffy declared approvingly with a laugh, sitting down beside Rebecca. She and the other three were already on the ground, Bartolomeo flat on his back and the girls beneath a tree. Hinata panted tiredly. "I just can't believe your stamina, Luffy. You hardly look tired at all!" She observed, Bartolomeo nodding in agreement. The black-haired boy laughed again. "Shishishi! I just train a lot with my brothers. It tends to go on for a while." He explained. Hinata smiled slightly, then looked up at the sky. "Oh, I should be going." She announced, standing up slowly. "I promised my little sister that I would help her train today."

The others all nodded in understanding and bid her farewell as she headed off to the Hyuga estate, with Bartolomeo standing up a few minutes later. "I gotta go, too. Need to pick up some food for dinner. I'll see you tomorrow, Rebecca. Glad to train with you, Luffy-sempai!" He said, waving slightly as he left, leaving Rebecca and Luffy sitting beneath the tree.

The two remained there for a while, just sitting in a comfortably tired silence. Suddenly, Luffy remembered something. "Oh, hey!" He said, turning to look at the girl. "I still have your aunt's takoyaki. You want some?" Rebecca considered the offer, and nodded with a smile. "Sure. I haven't eaten since breakfast." She accepted. Luffy grinned and took out the bento box, glad that it was still well sealed. He unwrapped the cloth around it and opened it, revealing the tasty snack. He handed one of the skewers to her, and tapped his own against it as if in toast. She laughed and repeated the action, and the two began eating. Though they didn't have any condiments or anything to put on the treats, they didn't mind.

"Phew, that was good!" Luffy sighed contently, dropping his skewer into the box and patting his stomach happily. "Your aunt's great at cooking!" He seemed about to say something else, when he realized that he had forgotten about something. "Oh, hey!" He exclaimed, sitting up quickly. Rebecca gave him an odd look. "What is it?" She asked, wondering if there was something wrong. Luffy turned to her with a massive grin. "I just remembered something! Me and Robin were on our way to class this morning, and we spoke to Makino. She said that she'd cook up a huge celebration dinner tomorrow night to celebrate everyone's graduation! Do you think you'll be able to come?"

Rebecca blinked, and paused to think. A big party for all of the graduates did sound fun, after all. The question was whether her father would allow her to attend. Luffy stood up, and offered her a hand, which she took to help stand up. "It definitely sounds like it could be fun." She admitted, dusting off her clothes. She smiled. "I'll ask my father about it. I can give you my answer tomorrow; is that okay?"

Luffy nodded, pulling his hat so that it sat further back on his head. "Yeah, that'll be good!" He said. "Thanks again for the takoyaki! And tell your aunt I said hi!" Rebecca nodded, smiling. "Right. I'll see you tomorrow, Luffy!" She told him, waving as she began to walk away. Luffy returned the gesture, heading home his own way as he spoke. "Yeah! See you tomorrow, Rebecca!"

And with that, Luffy made his way home. It was a bit earlier than usual, but he wanted to make sure that he was prepared for the next day. For him, that meant making sure that he ate enough so that skipping breakfast wouldn't be as much of an issue. An idea occurred to him as he walked, and his typical grin grew even larger. "Shishishi! He never said we couldn't do that!" He thought out loud, rubbing his hands together eagerly. Tomorrow was the day.

The first day of many with his new team.

* * *

><p><em>There's chapter three! Next chapter is Luffy and Naruto's teams' first exercise together, so expect some action the next time I update. It might be a while, so I appreciate the patience you all have had so far. So until next time, have a good one!<em>


	4. Ring: Kakashi's Test

_Hey everybody, long time no see! Sorry it took a while, but you know how it is with college finals. Or maybe you don't. Anyway, two B's and two C's later, here we are with Chapter 4! I hope it was worth the wait, so enjoy!_

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><p>Chapter 4: Ring: Kakashi's Test<p>

Morning: Third Training Ground

Having woken up early for the test, Sakura rubbed her eyes as she entered the clearing of the Third Training Ground. In the center of the clearing, three large logs were stood vertically, greatly contrasting the otherwise empty field. She looked around, and saw that Robin was already there, sitting on top of one of the logs with a book in her hand. The dark-haired girl caught a glimpse of pink, and gave Sakura a polite nod in greeting. "Good morning, Sakura." She said, smiling slightly. Sakura let out a quiet grunt in return as she approached, yawning. "Morning…" She managed drearily. Robin giggled. "Not a morning person, I take it?" She asked, receiving another grunt in response.

"Have any of the boys shown up yet?" Sakura asked, scanning the field. Robin shook her head. "No, not yet. Usopp told me yesterday that he would go to Luffy's this morning to make sure that he was awake. They should be here before too long." She explained. Sakura nodded, and knelt down to feel the grass. Feeling that it was decently dry around the logs, she took a seat at the base of one, closing her eyes as she waited. Within ten minutes, she heard the crunching of fallen leaves being stepped on, and both girls turned to see Sasuke, eyes slightly drooping from his early rise but otherwise looking as he normally did. "Good morning, Sasuke-kun!" Sakura called out to the boy, who showed no response. He looked around for the other boys, and when he saw none, leaned against the third log.

Perhaps five minutes passed, and the three saw Usopp and Naruto approaching, looking a bit more alert than they had been when they arrived, and talking about something. Seeing the pink-haired kunoichi, Naruto grinned and greeted her enthusiastically. "Oh, hey! Good morning Sakura-chan! Hey Robin!" He shouted. Sakura gave him a small wave, while Robin looked at Usopp as they walked over. "Good morning, Usopp. I thought that you were going to get Luffy?" She asked him. The long-nosed boy shrugged. "I did." He confirmed. "He's awake. But he told me that he had to do something before he came over, and that I should go on ahead." Naruto looked over at the two as the spoke. "I wonder what he needed to grab." He thought out loud. After a moment of consideration, he turned to Sakura and Sasuke. "Do you think he stayed home to get something to eat?" He offered a theory.

Sakura frowned. "He'd better not have!" She growled, the very thought enraging her. "I'm starving! I already don't eat that much because of my diet!" Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance at her loudness, and spotted a familiar figure running toward them. "Oi, hey everyone!" They shouted. The group turned, and saw Luffy, looking as wide awake and excited as ever. Usopp waved. "Hey, what took you so long?" He asked his friend. Luffy snickered. "Ah, I just had to grab something, like I said!" He responded mischievously. Sasuke and Sakura both eyed him suspiciously, but decided not to comment. "Ah, so is Kakashi-sensei here yet?" He asked curiously. Usopp shook his head. "Doesn't look like it."

Still waiting for their Jonin to arrive, the young ninja all began finding stuff to do. Sakura and Usopp had both fallen asleep, while Robin continued to read. Naruto was lying on the ground, attempting to balance a leaf above him with a steady breath. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Luffy were both training, punching and kicking a large tree on either side of it. Occasionally, one would take a few steps back to throw kunai or shuriken at it, though Sasuke much more frequently. Eventually, after what seemed to be a few hours, even they grew tired, Sasuke leaning against the tree while Luffy nodded off on the ground. Robin, having actually managed to finish her book, pocketed it and simply looked around, watching the birds up above.

The sound of crunching leaves once again attracted the attention of the students, all of them becoming alert and turning to the source. Sure enough it was Kakashi, wearing the same lack of expression he had most of the day before. He lifted a hand in greeting, eye closing in what they recognized as a smile from the day before. "Yo!" He said casually. Sakura, Luffy, Usopp, and Naruto all hopped to their feet and shouted. "You're late!" Kakashi blinked, and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes, well, I apologize. You see, I was on my way here when a black cat crossed my path. I'm afraid I had to take a detour. Bad luck, you know. Sorry about that."

The Genin all looked at each other as they gathered. "That's a terrible excuse." Usopp noted, earning a nod of agreement from the rest. Hearing this, the Jonin cleared his throat, and took position in front of the six. "Well, now that we're all here, I can explain why I wanted you here." He told them, wanting to change topics. He reached into his pocket, and pulled out five bells that chimed lightly. The students all looked at them with interest. "The exercise is simple, in concept at least. There are five bells. In order to pass the test, you simply have to take them from me. Easy as that."

Sakura looked at the five bells curiously, as did Robin. "But Kakashi-sensei, there are only five bells, and six of us." Sakura observed. Kakashi smiled again and nodded. "That is correct. You see, there's a bit more to it than that." He continued, glad that they had noticed. "Seeing as this is a bit unorthodox, what with there being two teams, I decided to make this test into a bit of a competition. Whoever's team manages to successfully grab more bells from me will be the winner."

Naruto nodded, understanding. "Alright, cool! But what do the winners get?" He asked. Kakashi walked over to a small statue, and placed three box lunches down onto it. Usopp had a bad feeling about this, and was beginning to figure out why they had been told to skip breakfast that morning. "The winners," Kakashi explained. "Will get to eat these lunches I prepared this morning before I left home." He then pointed to the logs in the clearing, and pulled out a thin but sturdy length of rope. "The losers will be tied to the logs over there, and forced to watch. And-"

All at once, the six Genin's stomachs rumbled thunderously, and they felt nauseas.

"So that's why he wanted us to skip breakfast…" Sakura muttered quietly, Usopp groaning as his suspicions were confirmed. Luffy looked positively terrified at the idea of having to watch someone eat while he went without food, and Naruto began to shout in protest. Only Sasuke and Robin didn't verbally complain, though they both looked rather unenthusiastic at the idea of having to go up against a Jonin on empty stomachs.

Kakashi chuckled. "I can see you all took my advice." He observed, and Luffy could swear he heard a sadistic edge to his voice. "Of course, it was just that; advice. Not an order." The shinobi added, drawing a collective groan of annoyance from his students. Something struck Sakura, however, as she remembered that the Jonin had been cut off by their stomachs. "Wait. Kakashi-sensei, is there something else for the losers?" She asked, dreading the answer.

Kakashi nodded. "Ah, yes. It's quite simple, really. As I said, it isn't very common for an instructor to be put in charge of two separate teams. To be perfectly honest, the idea doesn't really sit well with me. Ergo, I decided on this; whoever wins, will continue to learn under me. The losing team will be sent back to the academy immediately. Now, are there any questions?" He concluded, still smiling pleasantly.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then, there was not.

"WHAAAAAT?!" Shouted Naruto, Luffy, and Usopp at the same time, eyes blank and jaws dropped from shock. Sakura gasped and covered her mouth, while Sasuke and Robin both looked unsettled. "Sent back to the academy?!" Luffy repeated. Naruto shook his head. "No way, we passed the Genin exam! That's not fair!" He protested. Sakura and Usopp nodded in agreement. "He's right!" Usopp shouted.

Kakashi sighed. "Those aren't questions." He informed them, attaching the bells to his hip. Sasuke frowned._ "How the heck am I supposed to stay a Genin if I have to work with the dobe and Sakura?"_ He thought, glancing over at the two. His eyes turned to the other three. Luffy had managed to calm down, but he still looked uneasy for some reason. Robin's composure was back as well, while Usopp was shaking nervously. He sighed. _"Guess I'll just have to grab enough for all three of us."_ Sasuke decided, nodding to himself as he came to the conclusion.

Usopp looked at his own teammates, wondering what they were thinking. "A-are you guys ready?" He asked the two, who turned to face him. Luffy nodded. "Yeah!" He said, confident grin returning as he punched his open palm. Robin smiled slightly. "Yes, I am as well." She agreed. "Though if we fail, we may have to repeat our training at the academy." Usopp wailed in terror. "Don't say things like that, Robin!" He pleaded desperately, not needing his confidence further assassinated.

Luffy laughed at his friend's reaction. "Don't worry, Usopp!" He assured the boy. "We'll do great! Like you and Naruto said, we all passed the Genin exam. It'll be fine." Robin nodded, having the same feeling.

Kakashi looked at the six students as they finished speaking to each other. "Well then… Are you all ready to begin?" He asked, receiving nods and grunts of confirmation. Kakashi placed a small clock on the statue where he had put the lunch boxes. "This timer is set to go off in a couple of hours. That alarm will signal the end of the exer-"

"HAAARGH!" Naruto suddenly roared as he ran toward the Jonin, swinging his leg towards the man's head. Or at least, that was what he attempted; what happened instead was that he was tripped once his first leg left the ground, and found himself on his back with Kakashi's foot keeping him there. Luffy and the others silently gaped at their mentor's speed. _"I didn't even see him move."_ Sasuke thought to himself, gritting his teeth.

"I didn't say 'Go', Naruto." He said coolly, removing his foot from the boy's chest so that he could jump away and stand. Kakashi shook his head, but chuckled. "But I admire your spirit. You're going to need that kind of drive to win this thing. If you want to get the bells, you have to come at me with the intent to kill. Any and all ninja tools are allowed. Shurikens, kunai, and any jutsu you can manage are all acceptable."

The Genin all nodded and took a few steps back, crouching slightly in preparation to scatter. Kakashi moved his hand to the timer. "The test will begin…" He trailed, finger hovering over the start button.

His finger pressed the button down. "Now!" He announced, signaling the others to move. Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto all dashed in different directions, while Luffy, Usopp, and Robin leapt into the same section of the forest. Kakashi scanned the area, as the sound of rustling leaves dulled into nonexistence. "And now, for the hunt." He muttered to himself.

Robin, Luffy, and Usopp were all crouched in a large group of bushes a fair distance away, Usopp and Robin on the ground while Luffy hid behind a tree. Elsewhere, Sasuke was peering through the branches of a tree he was hiding in, and Sakura was lying prone beneath a bush.

Kakashi looked around, attempting to spot the kids. "Well, they've got stealth down well enough, it seems." He mused. Leaves shook behind him, and he turned to see Naruto standing up in a tree with his arms crossed confidently. He sweatdropped, as did Sasuke, Sakura, and Usopp. Robin rolled her eyes slightly in amusement, while Luffy stared blankly at the boy. "He's… kind of stupid." The straw-hat boy observed, receiving a light slap from Usopp in response. "Like you're one to talk!" His friend hissed.

Kakashi, however, seemed to agree with what Luffy had said. "You're not very bright, are you?" He asked rhetorically, earning a glare from the boy. "Hey, don't get cocky!" Naruto warned the ninja below him. "You just caught me by surprise before, that's all! Now I'm getting serious!" He leapt down, and drew a kunai in preparation. Kakashi reached behind his back, unbuttoning one of the pouches at his waist. Naruto tensed, ready to dodge to either side if Kakashi threw something at him.

Instead, however, he pulled out a small, orange book. This caught the boy off guard, and he began to glare at the man again. "Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" He demanded furiously. Kakashi shrugged and opened the book, raising it up to read from a marked page. "Why, reading, of course. How else am I going to find out what happens next?" The Jonin said casually, turning a page after a moment. Naruto growled, and Robin watched closely. "Kakashi-sensei is just attempting to aggravate Naruto into attacking without a plan." She deduced, Usopp nodding in agreement.

Luffy, however, seemed more interested in the book he was holding. "What is he reading, anyway?" He wondered. "It looks familiar." Robin tried to see, but she couldn't make it out from the distance. "I can't tell. Perhaps it is some sort of booklet on shinobi tactics?" She suggested, though it didn't look familiar to her. Usopp reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of miniature binoculars, taking a closer look. He suddenly choked up, cheeks burning red. "What? What is it?" Luffy asked, wondering what was wrong. Usopp looked at him and handed the binoculars to Robin, who also looked. "Oh my." She said simply, covering her mouth. Luffy snagged the binoculars from Robin while she was surprised, and took a look for himself.

Kakashi himself snickered perversely as he read something from the novel, further enraging the hyperactive Genin in front of him. "Argh, I'll show you not to ignore me!" He shouted, charging at the man in a blind fury. He jumped up and swung his fist towards the man's head from the left, only for the Jonin to catch it without even bothering to look up from his book. The boy grunted in surprise as his opponent tossed him back. Naruto wiped his mouth and smirked. "Not bad, but let's see how you can handle six Narutos!" He challenged, forming a seal with his hands. _"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"_

A thick cloud of dust surrounded the blonde boy, and when it cleared, there were five more Narutos standing in the same pose as the original, surprising Kakashi. The other students were just as surprised as their instructor, if not moreso. As they began to surround Kakashi, Sakura's eyes widened when she noticed that the clones had shadows. "Those aren't just illusions!" She thought, legitimately impressed. "Those are real, solid clones!"

The Jonin lowered his book slightly, and the six clones suddenly charged at him all at once. They dogpiled the man, kicking up a shroud of dust that enveloped the conflict, hiding them all from view. "Wait, wait!" One of the Narutos shouted. "Something's not right!" The sound of fighting dulled, and when the dust subsided they found that Kakashi was no longer there. "Hey, where'd he go?!" One demanded, two of the others shrugging. "I'll bet he transformed into one of us!" Another suggested, three of the others nodding to the theory.

"Or maybe he's right behind you." Someone else offered helpfully. The real Naruto turned his head, only to spot Kakashi squatting behind him with his book shut between his hands, two fingers on each extended. Sasuke, spotting this from his perch in a tree, silently gasped. "That's the seal for a fire jutsu!" He observed, recognizing it. Naruto let out a cry of terror as Kakashi called out his attack. _"Secret Leaf Village Technique!"_ Naruto's face suddenly paled, as a terrible pain coursed throughout his body. He was launched skyward, flying into the nearby river.

_"One Thousand Years of Death!"_ The Jonin concluded as he pulled his fingers back, standing up. The students watching all stared at him in disbelief. "He just… poked him." Sakura thought, unable to comprehend their sensei using such a ridiculous technique. Usopp scratched his head. "I had no idea there was a Kancho jutsu." He mused sarcastically, turning to his friend. "Did you see that Luffy?"

He received no response. In fact, Luffy wasn't there to give one. Usopp looked around. "Luffy?" Robin blinked, and tapped the boy on the shoulder. She directed his attention to Luffy, who was now standing in the clearing with a massive grin on his face. "Yosh! Now it's my turn!" He declared excitedly, cracking his knuckles. The long-nosed boy remained silent for a moment, but let out a loud sigh of exasperation. "I should have seen this coming…" He acknowledged, not knowing why he hadn't.

Kakashi turned to his student and remained silent for a moment, not really knowing what to say. He had expected one of the Genin to charge him, but the fact that two had done so, and so close together, wasn't what he'd thought would happen. Luffy squatted slightly, exercising his legs in preparation for the fight. "Do you wanna start, Kakashi-sensei?" He asked, surprising the man. "No, that's fine. Why don't you start us off?" Kakashi responded, curious to see what the boy would do.

Luffy grinned, and slowly scanned the area around them. He eyed the water behind the Jonin wearily, wondering for a moment what had happened to Naruto. Still, he couldn't let that distract him from his opponent. He rolled his wrist for a moment, and then gently planted his fist on the ground. Kakashi arched his visible eyebrow at this. "I'm not familiar with this stance." He thought, wondering what the boy was up to. He wouldn't have to wait long, however.

Luffy suddenly stood back up, and pulled his fist back. "That's quite the warning." Kakashi figured, able to see the punch coming a mile away. _"Gum Gum…"_ Luffy began, further confusing his teacher. "Gum?"

_"Pistol!"_ He shouted, throwing his punch from where he stood. Just like that, his entire arm stretched far away from his body, speeding toward a very surprised Jonin. "What the?!" He muttered, jumping out of the way. Luffy's fist hit a tree behind the man, causing its bark to explode into shards. The students' eyes all widened at the sight of the stretching limb, having never seen anything like it. "What kind of jutsu is that?!" Sasuke hissed, slapping his hand over his mouth when he realized he'd said that out loud in his surprise. He hadn't seen the boy perform any sort of hand seals, just put his fist to the ground. Sakura was likewise baffled, as were Luffy's friends.

"Did you know he could do that, Robin?" Usopp asked, still wrapping his head around it as Luffy's arm snapped back to its original size. The girl shook her head. "No, I don't recall him ever doing this before when we sparred." She said. Usopp looked back at his friend. "Was he hiding this, or did he think it up recently?" He wondered, not able to decide which one was more likely. Luffy was horrible at keeping secrets, but then again, he hadn't exactly asked the boy if he'd developed any new techniques recently.

Kakashi looked at Luffy with new-found interest, not having expected to be surprised in such a way by one of the Genin. "That's an interesting technique." He complimented, curious as to how it worked. Luffy grinned, pushing his hat off of his head so that it hung from the string sewn into it. "Thanks." He said with a laugh. "I was hoping it would hit you, though!"

The grey-haired man glanced down at his book, and slowly put it away with a sigh of disappointment before returning his attention to the Genin. "Perhaps some sort of clan Jutsu?" He theorized privately, not certain. Luffy put his fists up in preparation to continue, then got an idea. Suddenly he ducked down and swung his leg, stretching it just as his arm had in an attempt to slam Kakashi from the side. Now knowing more of what to expect, he had an easier time evading but was still confounded by what he was seeing. Luffy's leg continued swinging, and began to return to normal size. The snap once it did so caused him to spin slightly from the recoil. Kakashi saw the opportunity and ran forward, aiming a kick for the boy's own side.

Luffy gritted his teeth in preparation for the attack. _"Damnit, I still recover too slowly!"_ He cursed mentally, closing his eyes. Before the attack could connect, however, a barrage of shuriken flew out of the trees. Kakashi spotted them and leapt back to avoid, turning his gaze to where the attack had come from. A branch in a nearby tree slowly stopped shaking, a few leaves falling from it. "And there goes Sasuke." He determined, having figured it was the Uchiha boy who was hidden in the tree. He looked back at Luffy, who had taken a defensive stance, and gave the boy his odd mouthless smile. "Sorry, I want to see what Sasuke's up to." He apologized before setting off in the direction of the other Genin.

Once Kakashi had left, Luffy glanced around cautiously before sliding to the ground, sighing. After a moment, Usopp and Robin both stepped into the clearing to check on their friend. "Luffy, are you okay?!" Usopp asked, kneeling beside him. Luffy rolled his shoulder and nodded, feeling fine now that he was calming down. Robin turned in the direction that Kakashi and Sasuke had taken. A quiet rustling indicated that Sakura had also left, likely following the two. "Kakashi-sensei is quite impressive." She observed, crossing her arms and shifting her weight to one side.

Usopp nodded in agreement, and turned to Luffy. He was about to ask about what he had been doing, only to be interrupted by a loud gasp for air. The three turned and saw Naruto emerging from the river. Having forgotten he had been sent flying into the water by the Jonin, they approached him. "Hey, you alright?" Luffy asked, squatting in front of the boy. Naruto coughed and nodded as he roughly patted his own chest. "Y-yeah." He spat. "I was waiting for a chance to ambush Kakashi, but then you stepped in and he went after Sasuke. Which way did they go, anyway?"

Robin pointed where she had been looking before. "They headed off in that direction." She explained. "I believe that Sakura also went after them. Perhaps to try and support Sasuke." Naruto growled at the mention of the Uchiha boy and leapt to his feet in an instant. "Oh, no!" He vented irritably. "There's NO way I'm letting Duck-Butt get one of those bells before me!" With that, he too gave chase to the others, leaving Team 6 to themselves. They looked at each other.

"Do you think any of them have a chance?" Usopp asked, not really caring which of the others responded. After a moment, Luffy shook his head. "No." He said bluntly. "Kakashi-sensei's really strong. And even though my moves surprised him, it didn't take him that long to get close to me." Robin nodded in agreement. "He does seem very adaptable." She noted. Usopp groaned and scratched at his head with both hands. "Man, how are we supposed to get ahold of any of those bells like this?!" He asked, at a loss.

Luffy thought for a moment, looking at his two friends. Something occurred to him, and he turned to face Robin. "Hey," He asked. "What was it that he said we had to do, exactly?" Usopp glared at him. "Did you seriously already forget?!" He demanded. Luffy ignored him, and Robin explained. "He told us that we had to acquire as many of the bells as we could. Whichever team gets more bells will move on to become his official Genin squad, and the other will be sent back to the Academy." Usopp shivered at her repeating of their instructions, still unable to believe that all of their hard work so far could be undone by something so simple.

Luffy nodded, and then grinned. "I think I have an idea." He said, snickering. The other two looked at him curiously. "This can't be good…" Usopp lamented, to which Robin only giggled. Luffy made sure they were still alone, and then beckoned the others closer. "Alright, so here's what I was thinking. Robin, I need you to keep an eye on Kakashi-sensei…"

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><p>Sakura panted tiredly as she continued to run, frantically scanning the surrounding forest in hopes of spotting Sasuke. "Oh, please be okay!" She thought to herself worriedly. "If anyone can handle Kakashi-sensei it'll be Sasuke, but if anything happens to him, I'll-" She cut off her own thoughts, not needing the deterrent of doubt weighing her down. She had to find Sasuke and help him out. Between her brains and his skill, they could definitely get at least one of the bells!<p>

"Sakura…" A weak-sounding voice called out, slowing the kunoichi to a stop. She recognized the voice immediately. "Sasuke!" She called back happily, turning to the direction it had come from with an excited smile. What she saw, however, quickly changed that. Sasuke staggered out from behind a tree, using it to keep himself standing. Numerous kunai, shuriken, and even senbon were stuck in his body like the spikes of a porcupine, blood pouring from each wound and the boy's mouth. He moaned in pain, wincing heavily. "H-help… meee!" He whispered, taking a step towards her. Sakura's face went pale, eyes blank, as she took in his appearance.

The pink-haired girl let out a shriek of pure terror, and promptly fell unconscious at the shock of what she had just seen.

Elsewhere, having heard the scream, Kakashi shook his head as he turned a page in his book. "Maybe I went a little overboard…" He mused thoughtfully. "Then again, if she wants to be a ninja, she needs to at least learn the difference between reality and an illusion. Mistakes like that are dangerous."

As he said this, another barrage of kunai and shuriken flew toward the Jonin, who dodged out of the way with a quick duck. He turned, spotting Sasuke with his teeth gritted in frustration. The boy kept his hand near his shuriken pouch, ready to throw more if the opportunity arose. "I won't be making any mistakes like that." He informed his sensei, who responded by sighing irritably before putting his book away. "Is that so?" He asked, standing there looking disinterested. Sasuke's hands suddenly flew to his front, and he formed the Tiger seal. _"Fire Style..."_ Kakashi's eye widened slightly. "A fire Jutsu? Does he have enough chakra to use such a technique?"

_"Fireball Jutsu!"_ Sasuke called out. He inhaled deeply and curled the index finger of his left hand, which he blew through, launching a large blast of fire at his opponent. Kakashi raised his arms in defense, and took the attack in a large explosion of flames and smoke. Sasuke panted heavily, the technique taking more out of him than he'd hoped due to the adrenaline rush. Still, he managed a smirk, and scanned the charred ground where his attack had hit, only to lose it immediately when he saw no one there. "W-where'd he go?!" He demanded, looking around frantically. "Into the woods? Behind me? Above?!"

"How 'bout below?" A voice offered helpfully. Sasuke's head swiftly turned down, just in time to see a hand burst from the ground and grab his leg, pulling him down and burying him up to his neck in it. Kakashi emerged from the ground in front of him. _"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu."_ He elaborated. "Remember, when your opponent's a shinobi, attacks can come from any angle at all." Sasuke glared up at him. If he'd been just a little closer, he didn't know if he could resist the urge to bite the smug Jonin's ankle.

"Or from EVERY ANGLE!" Called out a familiar voice. Kakashi looked up from his recent victim to see a swarm of Naruto's Shadow Clones surrounding him, all leaping at him at once. Kakashi easily dodged the majority of them, dispatching them with individual kicks or tossing them into each other. "Numbers don't mean anything if they can't distract me, Naruto." He informed the boy, tossing a kunai in the direction of one who had thrown a shuriken. The thrower, the real Naruto, glared in irritation. Due to the commotion, neither the fighters nor Sasuke noticed that a brown eye had somehow found its way onto the Uchiha boy's headband, watching the other two.

In the forest, Robin stood with her arms crossed and raised in front of her, eyes closed. She suddenly opened her eyes and turned to Usopp and Luffy. "Naruto is fighting Kakashi again." She told them, receiving a nod from the two. Luffy smiled. "Alright Usopp, line me up!" He instructed his friend, who looked out at the fight through his binoculars as Luffy took hold of a pair of arms that had sprouted from a fallen log, slowly backing away and stretching his arms. "A little to the left." Usopp told them, Luffy adjusting his position thusly. He stopped moving backward, a pair of hands holding him in place. "A little lower… There!" Usopp finished, giving the other boy a thumbs up. He looked over at Robin. "When I give the signal, you know what to do." He said, Robin nodding in confirmation.

Luffy's grin grew even wider as he braced himself. "Alright, ready!" He told the two, itching to be let go. Usopp waited for a few seconds, and then swung his arm down. "Now, Luffy!" He hissed. Robin closed her eyes to concentrate, and the hands holding Luffy's ankles disappeared, launching the boy into the battlefield as he was pulled toward the arms he grabbed before releasing them.

Sasuke, hearing something, jerked his head to the side in time to see the straw-hat wearing boy flying towards Naruto's last few clones and the Jonin. "What the?!" Was all he managed before Naruto and Kakashi also noticed. Naruto yelped in surprised and dove to the side, the last of his clones disappearing. Kakashi attempted to do so as well, only to find that he couldn't. He looked down and saw two hands holding on to his ankles tightly, just as he had done to Sasuke's earlier. "What?!" He exclaimed. Luffy laughed as he flew at the white-haired man, extending an arm as if to strike. Unable to move otherwise, Kakashi instinctively leaned backwards.

A quiet ring chimed at his waist as Luffy sailed over him, hand brushing the Jonin for a mere instant.

Luffy rolled as he hit the ground roughly, skidding to a stop. Naruto and Sasuke both stared at him. "What the heck was that about?!" Naruto asked, utterly confused. Sakura emerged from the tree line, having woken up from her scare and followed the sounds of fighting. Kakashi stood up, the hands at his feet disappearing.

Luffy slowly stood up, back to the others, and brushed the dirt off of his shorts as he did so, hat hiding his eyes from sight. He turned around, smile as wide as they've ever seen, and he snickered mischievously. "One down!" He shouted, holding something up. The object let out a quiet, gentle chime, and the eyes of everyone present expanded. Kakashi looked down at his hip.

One of his bells was missing.

He looked back at the boy, who was cheering excitedly. "How did you…?" He wondered out loud, only to be interrupted by another excited voice. "Yeah, way to go, Luffy!" Usopp called, emerging from the tree line with Robin behind him, smiling happily. "The plan went perfectly." She observed gladly. Naruto frowned. "What plan?!" He shouted, tired of not knowing what was going on. Robin giggled.

"Luffy had an idea to get one of the bells from Kakashi." She explained as said boy calmed down, though he was still looking at the bell proudly. "I was keeping an eye out for an opening while you all fought Kakashi-sensei, while he and Usopp prepared to surprise him with an ambush. When the time came, I used my Jutsu to keep him in place."

Kakashi looked at her, Usopp, and Luffy, considering what all she had said. Sakura, meanwhile, had gone over to help Sasuke get out of his hole, while Naruto scratched his head as he thought about their plan. Just then, a loud buzzing noise could be heard. "What's that?" The Uzumaki child asked. Kakashi smiled. "That would be the timer." He said simply. The faces of Team 7 all paled at this, as they realized what it meant. "Y-you mean…?" Sakura stuttered nervously.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Team Six, congratulations. You're the first team I've ever had that has passed. Team Seven, you failed to acquire any of my bells. You have failed." He stated, watching as the faces of the group fell. Though Luffy and his friends were excited to have passed, they couldn't really express it, given that the other team was going to be sent back to the Academy. "Wait!" Luffy exclaimed, the others turning to look at him. "Are you sure there's no way they can pass? Can't you just give them a little more time?"

Kakashi blinked, not having expected one of the Genin who had passed to ask the question, but shook his head. "No." He said bluntly. "I'm afraid they just don't have what it takes to make it as ninjas. Perhaps next year, they can try again."

The three's heads lowered, and all sighed in tandem. Kakashi cleared his throat. "Now, if you'll please come with me to the clearing. Seeing as Team 7 lost, they will be tied to the posts there and forced to watch as Team 6 enjoys their lunch. Afterwards, I will personally escort them to the Hokage to explain why you are going back to the Academy." With that, he once again pulled out the rope he had showed them before, and Naruto and Sakura gulped, not eager for any of what was about to start. Sasuke grumbled quietly to himself as they all fell into step behind Kakashi, eventually making it back to the spot where the exercise had started. The three members of Team 7 sat down in front of the poles, while Kakashi had three clones tie them up.

Team 6, meanwhile, sat down on the ground, while Kakashi handed them the lunches that he had prepared that morning. He dusted his hands off and smiled. "Now then, if you'll excuse me, I have to go talk to Iruka. I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that some of his favorite students are coming back! Remember, you three; don't feed them even a single bite. They lost, they have to face the consequences." He said, Naruto paling at the mention of their instructor. Ignoring this, the Jonin vanished in a blur of movement, leaving the Genin to themselves.

"I can't believe it…" Sakura muttered, lowering her head in despair. "All our hard work, and now we're getting sent back. It's like we never even passed the exam!" Sasuke said nothing, but one could tell by his glare that he agreed. How could he have possibly failed to get even one bell, when Luffy of all people had managed to get one?!

Naruto growled and thrashed about, struggling to escape the ropes. He sighed and looked at the other three as they opened their bentos slowly, obviously feeling guilty about eating in front of them but too hungry to let it stop them. His stomach growled loudly, which caused the others' to follow. "So hungry…" He groaned. Luffy looked in his lunch box and gave it a gentle sniff, and grimaced slightly. Usopp gave him an odd look as he took a bite of some rice. "What's up?" He asked. Luffy shook his head. The boy turned to the tree tied to the posts, and stood up. "Luffy?" Robin asked as he walked over to Naruto.

Luffy held the box in front of the blond-haired boy. "Here." He said simply, much to Naruto's surprise. "Huh?" He asked. Luffy grinned. "Take it! You're hungry, right?" Everyone stared at him, stunned into shock. "WHAT?!" Usopp shouted, slapping a hand over his mouth. "You're going to give him your food?!" Luffy gave him an odd look. "Why would I eat this? The snack is cherry-flavored." The others looked at him at confusion, and then further shock as he reached into his pocket with his free hand, only to pull out… a piece of meat?

"You… you hid meat in your pocket?!" Sakura asked, completely dumbfounded. Even Sasuke looked lost. Luffy laughed as he chewed, and swallowed. "What? He said not to eat this morning, he didn't say anything about bringing food to the exercise!" He noted. Robin smiled. "That was very clever, Luffy." She complimented, the boy only laughing happily again. She looked at her own food, and then held hers out to Sasuke. He looked at her with surprise, but after a moment nodded his head in a silent thank you, too hungry to care about his pride. Usopp looked around, making sure Kakashi wasn't anywhere nearby, and offered some food to Sakura. She smiled, sighing thankfully. "Thanks, you guys." She said, glad they were doing this for them.

After eating with the assistance of Team 6, Naruto and the others looked at each other and stopped. "You guys can eat the rest." Sakura said, Naruto nodding in agreement. Usopp frowned. "You guys sure?" He asked. Another nod. "Yeah!" Naruto told him. "Kakashi-sensei was right; you DID earn those lunches." Sasuke shrugged, or at least attempted to in the ropes. "Besides," He muttered. "We can just get something to eat once we go home…" Sakura and Naruto looked at him, and both sighed in depression.

Suddenly, a blast of wind seemed to blow across the clearing, blowing the bentos out of their hands. "W-what's that?!" Usopp shrieked frantically, ducking down low to the ground and covering his head. Robin maintained a stoic expression, while Naruto and Sakura were trying to speak to the others over the wind. Sasuke and Luffy both gritted their teeth, Luffy standing up against the wind as a blur ran towards them.

"YOOOOOOOU!" Roared Kakashi, stopping dead in front of the others with a furious glare. "I gave you an order not to give them A SINGLE BITE!" Luffy growled, not liking that he was yelling at them for sharing their food. "Hey, we won it! We should be able to give it to whoever we want!" He shouted back, clenching his fists. Team 7 looked at him in surprise. Kakashi wasn't having it, though, and stepped closer. "A shinobi who can't follow orders is nothing but scum!" He continued. It was Naruto's turn to growl now, and after a moment, he too joined in the shouting.

"Hey, it's all my fault!" He insisted, everyone turning to look at him. "What?" Usopp muttered quietly. Naruto spat on the ground. "Y-yeah!" He managed, fighting back the fear he currently had for their enraged sensei. "I was hungry, so I begged them to feed us!" Sakura's eyes widened at this, and even Sasuke seemed surprised. "Wait, it was me!" Sakura interjected, earning everyone's attention. "Naruto's just covering for me. I was the one who was begging!"

Kakashi turned to her, his gaze sending shivers down her spine. "So it was YOU, Sakura?" He asked, reaching into one of the pouches at his hip. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for whatever he had planned, only to hear something instead of feel it. "It was me." Sasuke said, stunning everyone. "I was hungry, so I asked them. It was nobody else's fault."

Luffy, Usopp, and Robin all looked at Team 7, impressed by their defense of them. They glanced at Kakashi, who had lowered his head to the point where they couldn't see his eyes. "YOOOOOOOOOUUUU…!" He slowly rumbled, arms shaking in fury. Team 7 steeled themselves, and Team 6 stood up in front of their friends (even if Usopp was hiding a bit behind Luffy). Kakashi raised his head, revealing surprisingly pleasant expression on what part of his face was visible.

"You passed."

There was a long pause after those words, as the six students all processed them.

"EEEEHHHHHHHH?!" Shouted Usopp, Sakura, and Naruto. Sasuke still looked dumbstruck, while Luffy just seemed confused. Even Robin appeared perplexed.

"You passed." Kakashi repeated, his friendly tone persisting. "Congratulations, Team 7."

The three Genin continued to stare at him, clearly lost as to how they had passed. Kakashi sighed, having hoped that he wouldn't have to explain things, but relented without much fuss; after all, he was honestly impressed. "I can see that you're all a bit stunned, so let me explain." He said, walking over to the statue were he had placed the lunches when they first arrived. "This is a memorial, dedicated to great heroes of the Hidden Leaf village. There are several like it scattered throughout Konoha. This one in particular is dedicated to those declared KIA."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he grinned excitedly. "Wow, that's so cool!" He said, clearly in admiration. "That's what I want to be! One of those kinds of ninja!" The others, even Luffy, all gave him odd looks. His smile faded. "What?" He asked, not understanding what he had said. Sakura shook her head. "Naruto, KIA stands for 'Killed in Action'. Those are all ninja who died in the middle of their missions."

Naruto's face paled at this revelation, and Kakashi nodded. "That is correct." He confirmed. "There are dozens, perhaps a couple hundred Konoha shinobi who were all killed in the line of duty. Some died of torture, refusing to divulge secrets that would endanger their friends and family. Others sacrificed themselves so that the rest of their team could escape."

He paused, and then turned back to the students, who had all fallen silent. "But still others died because they were abandoned by their team, in hopes that the mission could still be completed." He finished, sending a chill up the spine of all but Sasuke, though even he looked uneasy. Luffy, in particular, looked positively livid at the very idea of leaving a comrade behind. Kakashi noticed this, but said nothing of it. "You see, it is always important to follow one's orders when on a mission. Those who do not are scum."

He then crossed his arms, looking up at the sky. "But… those who abandon their friends are worse than scum." Once more his gaze turned to his Genin. "Team Six, I gave you an order not to feed Team Seven, but you did anyway despite knowing what you risked for doing so." Usopp, Robin, and Luffy all smiled at this, getting an idea of where this was going. "And Team Seven, you spoke up and insisted that it was your begging that led them to disobey their orders."

Kakashi smiled. "By doing so, you have proven to me that you have a level of loyalty that no other squads I've ever been assigned have shown. Your willingness to sacrifice for the sake of your friends and team mates tells me that you are all ready. Ready to become official shinobi of the Hidden Leaf."

Luffy hopped to his feet in excitement, while Naruto squirmed in his rope binds. "So does this mean-?!" The two asked at once, their team mates also growing eager. Kakashi nodded, and shot the six students a victorious thumbs up. "That's right! Team Six and Team Seven will take on their first official mission tomorrow!"

Naruto, Luffy, and Usopp all let out cheers of enthusiasm, Naruto in particular practically singing in celebration. "We made it, we made it!" He shouted, earning an amused smile from Sakura, Robin laughing quietly as her own team mates began a dance of victory. Sasuke rolled his eyes, but let out an almost inaudible chuckle. Kakashi looked at the six and laughed, then looked back at the memorial. "I hope you're watching this, sensei." He thought. "I know that you would be proud of him."

* * *

><p><em>And with that, we have four chapters done with. I may go back and edit the past chapters to fit better with the Jutsu format I used here (italicized and underlined). I'm hoping to be able to get Chapter 5 written up and posted before Christmas Break is over. That being said, I hope you all enjoy the holiday season, and I wish you all a happy new year!<em>


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